Naruto the Puppeteer
by Mint Man Bail
Summary: At age seven, Naruto travels with Sandaime Hokage to Suna, for his own protection. While there, he learns the basis for the magnificent art of Puppetry. Watch as Naruto grows into a living legend as Konoha's first Puppeteer. Rated M. Rewrite pending
1. Journey to Suna

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Don't sue me.

AN: Here is the first chapter of my newest story. It's going to be my take on a Puppet User Naruto story. I draw a lot of inspiration from Puppet User Naruto stories, so I'm taking my shot at them. As with most of my other fics, this is rated M. I have reasons for this, mostly descriptive violence and gore. If you don't like this, don't read my story.

Now, basis is pretty similar to most Puppet User Naruto stories. But at the same time, different. He goes to Suna with the Hokage at a young age, but unlike in most, he doesn't find the hidden workshop of one Sasori of the Red Sand. He does something very different. I don't want to say, cause it would ruin the story to do so. So if you want to see, read this story.

Now, I'm not too sure on pairings in this one. I want to try something that hasn't been done before. Or at least something I've not seen yet. As such, pairings are going to be a ways away. I plan on making this epic length, just like my other stories, so I got the time.

Well, let's get this thing started. Chapter one, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

-0-0-

The old man known to all as Sandaime Hokage looked at the paper in front of him. He sighed, thinking. It wasn't a dreaded piece of paperwork like usual, but rather a letter from the Yondaime Kazekage. He was inviting the aged leader to talk about an alliance between the two villages. Sarutobi knew that this would go a long way towards keeping the peace between the great Shinobi villages. But the problem was the last time he had been gone from the village, the villagers had tried to kill Uzumaki Naruto and burn his apartment down. He had found out later that six ANBU had killed at least thirty of them, and one of the ANBU had been injured, but not life threatening. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't leave Naruto here without anyone to defend him. And since an ANBU had been injured by the mob while defending Naruto, the rest of them were a little more likely to just forget it and let it happen. But it would be considered in poor taste to bring a child to a peace meeting. He finally decided on what to do, and penned a response for the Kazekage. He sent it off, and left the office for the day.

Two days later, he got a reply, and had his ANBU escorts bring Naruto to him. Less than half an hour later, two ANBU, but not the ones sent out to get him, brought in Naruto himself. The seven year old struggled, and said," Let go of me, you freaks. I made it look much better, it's true art now."

While one ANBU continued holding him, the other bowed to the Hokage and said," Hokage-sama, I apologize for bringing this to your attention, but Uzumaki Naruto painted the Hokage monument again."

Sarutobi looked out the window, and sure enough, the monument was painted again. He said," Leave him, I'll handle it personally."

The two ANBU left, with gleeful looks under their masks. As the door swung shut, Naruto threw himself at the mercy of Sarutobi, saying, " Please don't punish me, I just wanted it to look better. It looked so boring before, but now it looks like true art."

The Hokage said," Be that as it may, you still painted the Hokage monument. I will have to punish you."

Naruto knew better than to argue. The old man could be scary when angered. He stood up a bit straighter and said," I understand, Hokage-jiji."

Sarutobi laughed at his inventive way of being respectful and disrespectful at the same time. He said," You will have to clean up the Hokage monument, and you will have to help me for a day filing the paperwork."

One of the strangest things about their relationship was that the old Hokage would get him to help with the paperwork as punishment for the pranks he pulled. Now, for most children, this would be a boring, tedious task, but for Naruto it was awesome. He got to spend the day with his surrogate grandfather, and learn the ins and outs of being the Hokage himself. It was unofficial training. And while they worked, Sarutobi would tell him about the amazing jutsu that he knew. Naruto had working knowledge of nearly two hundred fifty jutsu. He didn't use any of them, for fear of messing up on them and hurting himself, but he knew how to perform them, the theory at least.

Naruto nodded, and said," I understand, Hokage-jiji. I'll have it done in a bit."

Sarutobi decided to give him incentive. He said," If you can clean it up before sun down, I'll take you with me on a trip in a few days."

Naruto looked at him with stars in his eyes, saying," Really, Hokage-jiji? I could get out of the village?"

Sarutobi said," Indeed. I have to go to Suna for a peace conference. I hear that the Kazekage, the leader of Suna, has a few children, one your age and the others older by a few years.(for the record, Gaara is the same age as Naruto, Kankuro two years older, and Temari three. So, in order: 7, 9, 10 at this time. Got it?) I am sure that they would like to show you around the village while we old men talk."

Naruto bounced up and down, screaming his joy to the sky. It was unlikely that anyone in the village didn't hear him. In a training ground, one ANBU looked up from his training to say," You say something?" to his companion.

Back in the office, Naruto finally calmed down and said," Well, better get working on it. Could you open the window? Oh, and get me some supplies to clean with?"

Sarutobi nodded, and buzzed his secretary for cleaning supplies. After she came in with the needed items, and left with a sneer at the demon boy, said demon boy gathered up the supplies and leaped out the window. The Hokage yelled as he jumped. He moved to the window to see Naruto hanging horizontally on the monument. He laughed at the look on the Sandaime's face, and went to work.

(I was going to have a scene where he just used a really low powered genjutsu to have it seem like the monument was painted, but decided against it. It's been done somewhere else, but I can't remember where)

Five hours later, Naruto had finished the cleaning of the monument. He moved back to the Hokage's office, jumping in through the window. Sarutobi said," How did you learn to do that?" He thought for a moment, then said," And why can't you use the door like a normal person?"

Naruto laughed as he stood in front of the Sandaime's desk. He said," The library has a lot of things, Hokage-jiji. And though they don't let me in during the day, what kind of a shinobi would I be if I couldn't break into a building? And this is going to be my office one day, so I'll come in any way I want. It was faster."

The old man looked at him, and finally said," So, you mean to tell me that you have been breaking into the library after hours to read on being a ninja? How long has this been going on?"

Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly, and said," I don't do anything to the books, and I put them back before it opens in the morning. They never even know I'm there. One time, I hid on top of the bookshelf after they opened up for the day. I got a lot of reading in then. And I've been doing it since I was three."

The old man was amazed at this. This boy had been breaking into a building for four years, apparently ever night. He hadn't been caught yet? Granted the building wasn't that well protected, but still. He said," Well, I have to revise my opinion of you Naruto. You seem to have a handle on the basics to being a ninja. I look forward to when you're in the academy. For now, I'll give you a special key to the library. You can go in after hours and they lock up for the day. I don't want you trying to break into buildings inside Konoha. Do I make myself clear?"

Naruto nodded, and said," Thank you, Hokage-jiji. I appreciate you not being too angry at me. I promise to not break into a place in Konoha again."

Sarutobi said," Alright, thank you. Now, we leave for Suna in two days. Tomorrow you can work off the rest of your punishment. I expect you here at eight AM, got it?"

Naruto nodded, grinning. Sandaime reached into the folds of his cloak and handed Naruto a coupon for ramen. He said," I found this while you were working on the monument. Here you go, Naruto."

Naruto grabbed the paper, and looked at it like it was a gift from the gods. He rushed towards the door, and stopped in mid stride. He turned back around and said," Hokage-jiji, you remember that jutsu you told me you would teach me when I graduated from the academy? That clone one?"

Sarutobi nodded, wondering where this was going. Naruto turned back around and said," I found a small note on it in one of the jutsu books I've read. It didn't tell me how to do it, don't worry." That was one of the things Naruto wasn't allowed to do. He could do just about anything, but if he learned how to do anything that was considered forbidden, then he was in trouble. He continued," It said that the person learns everything that the clone knows when it's dispelled. You know about that, right?"

Sarutobi said," Of course I do. What kind of professor would I be if I didn't know everything about a jutsu and it's various uses."

Naruto smiled, and Sarutobi knew that he was about to get something. Naruto said," So, you know every single way to use a Kage Bushin, right? Want to bet on it?"

Sarutobi looked intrigued, and said," What kind of a bet do you have in mind, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto pounced on that," I bet I could figure out a use for it that you haven't even considered. If I can figure out a use for it that you haven't used, or even thought to use, then you buy me a little something when we get to Suna. If you have figured it out, then I'll do your paperwork for a month."

Sarutobi was interested. He didn't think that Naruto could have a use for Kage Bushin that he wasn't familiar with, and a month's worth of paperwork was a lot. He said," Deal, Naruto-kun."

Naruto stuck out his hand, and they shook on it. Naruto turned to the two ANBU in the corners nearest the doors, and said," You witnessed it. He shook on it."

The two stoic ANBU nodded once, and Naruto turned to Sarutobi, that grin on his face. The grin was one that spoke of something that he knew, that you didn't, and Sarutobi was worried about this. He didn't like that grin, it usually followed with something unexpected. With Naruto, that isn't always a good thing.

Naruto said," Use the Kage Bushin to do your paperwork. Everything it learns, you know. It acts just like you, and it will sign what you would sign yourself. So it's like you are doing your work yourself."

For all of three seconds, the three adults looked at this kid. Then, in a creepy unison, they all smacked their faces. Naruto was grinning from ear to ear. The Hokage asked," So, what am I getting you on this trip, Naruto-kun. A deal is a deal."

Naruto bounced up and said," A puppet. I read that one of the arts Suna is famous for is puppet users. No one else has done anything quite like it. I want to say that I at least own one of their combat puppets."

The Hokage nodded. He would have to ask the Kazekage if it was OK for Naruto to get one, but it shouldn't be a problem. After all, he didn't know how to use them, he just wanted it for collection purposes. Oh, how wrong he was.

Naruto left the office, already planning. He wasn't the by any means exactly as he acted. He did put on the mask of happiness, but that was mostly for the benefit of others. He was actually a cunning, strategic individual. He had been breaking into a lot of buildings, merely to see if he could. He had even broken into ANBU captain Kakashi's apartment. He still hadn't found all the porn he had lifted. He had been planning for such an event for a long time. He hadn't actually thought he would get to Suna so soon. He had plans.

Two days later, the Hokage and Naruto were leaving the village. They had an escort of four ANBU, and quickly moved off.

After a few days of travel, they finally reached Suna. Naruto, who at the start had liked the sand, had become rather mad at it. He had at one point pulled a fist at the sun, wondering how it could be so much more unendurable out here. He assumed it was the lack of shade. But now they were there, in the village hidden in the Sand. The Hokage and his ANBU escorts gave the proper ID, and the old man gave Naruto's as well, seeing as he was gaping at the village itself.

Naruto was staring at the buildings, never having seen anything like them. He was awed by them. He took a step in, and felt like he had come to his true home. He shook it off, Konoha was his home, all he knew was there.

The Yondaime Kazekage looked at the young boy as he took in the city. Then he walked forward and spoke to the Hokage," I hope your trip was pleasant. I notice the boy you spoke of is awed by our humble city. Perhaps he would like to join my children in a bit of sightseeing?"

The old man said," I said he would probably be allowed to do that. I thank you for allowing him to come here with me. He has a fascination with art, and considers your puppetry ninjutsu to be one of the best arts there is." Here, the old man smiled and chuckled a bit. He said," Two days before we left, when I got your letter, he painted the Hokage monument, claiming it wasn't true art before that."

The Kazekage laughed, and said," Temari, Kankuro, come here please."

The two older of the Kazekage's children walked over to their father. They weren't in the academy yet, though Temari was supposed to be by now. The Kazekage wanted them all to be a team, and as such, had his two oldest helping him until their younger brother could enter as well. He said," I have a little job for you two. I want you to take that boy with you to see what our city has to offer. He is said to have an appreciation of puppets. Show him yours, Kankuro."

The boy nodded, but looked like he wanted to whine about being a babysitter. Temari nodded. The two of them walked over to Naruto, only to stop, as he was chatting animately with Gaara.

Naruto watched everyone with a detached interest. He wanted to see puppets. But then he saw a boy with red hair looking at him. He moved towards him, and said," Hi, I'm Naruto. I'm going to be the greatest Hokage ever."

The boy stared at him, then said," I'm Gaara. You seem nice. Want to be friends?"

Naruto was struck speechless. He had no idea why, but no one wanted to be his friend at home. The last person who had wanted to be his friend had later attacked him when he guard was down. He didn't know it, but Ino, the girl who had wanted to be his friend, had been told by her father to attack him, and to not be his friend any more. So, being a young, impressionable boy, he had seen that when someone wanted to be his friend, it generally ended up with him being in pain in some way. He actually winced as he remembered getting punched **there** by the girl. He wasn't in a hurry to repeat the process.

He said," Why would you want to be my friend? So you can hurt me too? I think I'll pass."

Gaara was shocked, but he understood that he was hoping for too much. No one wanted to be his friend. His own siblings were afraid of him.

The two Kages had stopped talking to see the interaction between the two boys. Kazekage said," Hokage-dono, why is that boy afraid to be friends with my son?"

The old man knew he had to tread carefully. Then he realized that if he told his counterpart in Suna the truth, it would be good for the peace they wanted to achieve. He said," Naruto-kun is a rather unique person. He has something that makes him hated and feared within our village. That is the main reason I brought him with me. It's to protect him from the villagers who would do him harm. But because no one has ever offered him friendship except once, he no longer thinks he needs it. The only person who wanted to be his friend, Yamanaka Ino, was told by her parents to be mean to him when she told them that she had made a new friend. He has issues trusting anyone now because of that. He sees any invitation to be friends as a possibility of being betrayed and hurt."

The Kazekage nodded, and said," So, this is the Kyuubi vessel."

The Hokage felt cold all of a sudden. But the Kazekage put that to rest by saying," Fear not. I hold no ill will to Uzumaki-san for being a vessel. My own son is a lot like this boy. Shunned for something he has no control over. He, too, has a sealed demon in him. The one tail in fact. Now, I assume he doesn't know?"

The old Hokage nodded, and the Kazekage continued," As I thought. Gaara has been raised to believe he is a weapon first and foremost. But if we achieve the peace we hope to achieve, then he will have no purpose. He is growing insane from the demon. I feel that him having a friend would help him. I also think you would like to see Uzumaki-san happy again. He hides it well, but you can tell that he hurts from all the damage inflicted."

Sarutobi nodded, and the Kazekage moved towards Gaara and Naruto. He knelt down to be eye level with Naruto, and said," Uzumaki-san, this is my son Gaara. Please believe me when I say that he means you no harm. He is a really sweet boy who has no friends of his own. He won't betray you like you think. Give him a chance, please?"

Naruto looked at him for a few minutes, and then said," Your an old man, aren't you." It wasn't a question.

The Hokage laughed at this, and quickly explained," He means no disrespect. It's just that he sees anyone with Kage in their title, he considers them old men."

The Kazekage chuckled slightly, then said," Well, in that case, then yes, I'm an old man. Why don't you and my three children go and look around. They will tell you anything you want to know. Before we old men get our talks under way, is there anything you want to ask me?"

Naruto said," Could I learn to use Puppet Jutsu, sir?"

The gathered people were shocked. He knew enough to ask for permission. The Kazekage decided to play it off. He said," I don't know what you can do, so I don't know if you could learn puppet techniques."

Naruto persisted," I didn't mean do you think I have the ability to do it. I know that Puppet Jutsu is a Suna technique, and I wanted permission to learn it, to bring it to Konoha."

The Kazekage was shocked, as was the others. He was actually asking if he could take a Suna secret and bring it to Konoha. The Kazekage saw an opportunity here, and said," What would you be willing to give up in return for the right to practice puppetry?"

The Hokage knew that though he looked at Naruto, the question was for him. He said," Naruto has a rather good idea. A trade of technique. I'll give you a secret technique of Konoha for him to learn puppetry and to teach others if he wants to."

The Kazekage looked at his older counterpart, and said," We'll have to see what the technique is, but I like little Naruto here. Uzumaki-san, I will tell you what. My middle child, Kankuro, is a puppet user. He will teach you the basics, and you can practice puppetry. But I must ask that you don't teach any one else how to do it. Even if we don't agree on our trade of technique, you will be allowed to use puppets. Now, we old men have some work ahead of us, so if you'll excuse us." He made to leave.

Naruto said," One last question. How much does a puppet cost here?"

The Kazekage said," It depends. But here." He wrote a short note, and handed it to Naruto. He said," That will allow you to get one of the better puppets we mass produce here in Suna. I like you, Uzumaki-san. You might bring Gaara back to what he is supposed to be. Just give him a chance."

Naruto said," You don't understand. Hokage-jiji promised me he would buy me a puppet when we were here."

The Kazekage looked at Sarutobi, and he said," We made a bet, I lost. That is why I brought up him liking puppets in the first place. I was hoping he would at least be allowed to buy one. Not to use, just to have. But it seems he has bigger plans than just having one."

The Kazekage nodded, and said," The price varies. Kankuro, tell Hokage-dono how much your first one would cost now."

The child went over to Sarutobi and whispered to him. Sarutobi's eyes widened, then he handed Naruto a purse of money. He said," That should cover the puppet I owe you. Please don't destroy anything, and no pranks. The three of them knows where the hotel is. I want you back by eight, understand, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto nodded, and turned to Gaara as the entourage of the two Kages left at last. He said," I'm sorry for saying that earlier. I have bad experiences with 'friends' but you're different. I can tell. I'll be your friend if you still want me to be."

Gaara's eyes widened, and he began bouncing up and down. He had a friend, a real friend that seemed to be just like him. He was so happy.

Temari and Kankuro looked at their younger sibling, happy for him. He had been left alone all his life, and it pained them to see him like that. Temari took charge," Alright, let's go get you your puppets, and Kankuro can begin showing you the basics of the art. But first, we'll show you around."

Naruto nodded, and followed them quietly.

The time flew by for Naruto, and soon enough, a month had passed, and it was time to go. He looked at his new friends, the three Sand siblings, as he called them. Kankuro and him had a healthy rivalry going on, to see who was the better puppet user. So far Kankuro was the winner, but he had experience on his side. Temari was a big sister to him. She had found out that he seemed to like making big winds for no reason. She had confided in her father that it likely meant he was a Wind user primarily. But it would be years before they knew for certain. Gaara was a strange one. He tried to be nice, but everyone hated him for something, Naruto didn't know what. Gaara had shown him that he controlled sand rather well. Naruto had said it was cool, and demanded him make a giant sand castle about a hundred feet our beyond the walls. They had played in it for days, just being kids.

Naruto had become adept at puppetry, and had his two puppets, named Kira and Jingo. They were a set. He had used the voucher on one, and the money on the other. He also bought a sketchpad to begin drawing his own designs.

The Kazekage looked at Naruto, and said," Uzumaki-san, care to give us a demonstration of your skills. I wish to see how good you are in our art."

Naruto nodded, and said," Before I begin, here." He handed over his sketchpad, and said," These are ideas I have for new puppets. If they are good, I'll send you blue prints of them, instead of just rough sketches."

The Kazekage and Hokage looked at the pages, and they were both impressed. The boy had some rather unique ideas. After they got about halfway through, they stopped. There was a puppet that looked like the Ichibi, Shukaku of the Sand. The Kazekage asked," Uzumaki-san, what is this puppet?"

Naruto looked at the page, and smiled. He said," It's designed after the embodiment of the desert, Shukaku of the Sand. I saw a couple carvings of him, and thought he looked cool. I heard that there are puppet masters who have had shell puppets, puppets they can actually climb into and control from the inside. I made him like that. I plan on making him as soon as I get the materials, and the time."

Kankuro was shocked. When he had told Naruto about Shukaku, he didn't expect him to design a puppet after him. He looked at his brother, and knew that if Naruto ever found out about Gaara's demon, then he wouldn't hate him for it.

The two Kages nodded, and finished looking at the puppets. Then they handed him the book back, and the Kazekage said," Now, show us what you can do."

Naruto nodded, and pulled a scroll out. He bit his thumb, and unsealed the contents. Two puppets fell out. Naruto placed one hand on the shorter, angrier of the two, and the other on the taller, broader of them. He said," This is Kira," He motioned to the smaller one with what appeared to be knives embedded in it's four arms. He continued," And this is Jingo." He motioned to the taller, which was easily twice Naruto's size. Naruto twitched his fingers, and three chakra strings shot out into each of the puppets. They came alive in an instant. Naruto said," Hokage-jiji, can you make me a target?"

The old Hokage nodded, and made four Kage Bushin. They had agreed to swap secrets, puppetry for Kage Bushin. The Hokage had told Kazekage of his bet with Naruto, and the use Naruto had come up with for using Kage Bushin. The Kazekage had demanded to know the secret to such a clone. Sarutobi knew he hated the paperwork too.

The four shadow clones circled Naruto. He said," You might want to back up. The poison on the weapons isn't life threatening, but it'll knock you out for a few hours."

All the spectators backed up, and the four Bushin attacked.

Naruto twitched his right hand, and Jingo started the battle with kunai from it's mouth. The Bushin it was aiming at dodged aside, and the other three moved towards Naruto, intent on pummeling him.

Jingo moved to block them, and it's huge arms snapped at the first of two joints, revealing a launcher of some kind in each of them. Senbon flew out of the two launchers, and one Bushin went up in smoke.

Kira began moving, getting close to one of the Bushin, twirling around, it's four arms striking at the clone. The knives pierced it, and it disappeared. A twitch of Naruto's left hand, and Kira's arms flew off, each gaining one string. The single-jointed arms flew at the remaining three Bushin, and with practiced ease, the three clones dispersed.

The Kazekage clapped, and said," Marvelous. I knew I made the right choice concerning you, Naruto-san. You will be a fine puppet user one day. Maybe even a puppet master."

Kankuro looked at his father in shock. He wanted to be considered a puppet master, it was what he strove for. To hear his own father say that his chief rival had what it took to be a puppet master, and not him, it was a blow to his ego.

Naruto bowed to the Kazekage, and said," I can only thank you for allowing me to use this magnificent art form. Thank you."

The Kazekage said," Nonsense. You and my son will be the best of puppet masters, I'm sure of it. You seem to have an instinctive ability with puppetry. Might there be a puppet user in your family?"

Within a few seconds, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. Sarutobi said quietly as Naruto sealed up Kira and Jingo with a dark look in his eyes," Kazekage-dono, Naruto is an orphan. He doesn't know who his parents are, much less who is in his family tree."

Kazekage strode over to Naruto after hearing this, and knelt down. He said," Naruto-san. Look at me please."

Naruto looked at the leader of Sand, and the Kage felt his heart break at the pain in his eyes. He said," I'm sorry, I didn't know that you don't know who your family is. It was thoughtless and cruel of me. Can you forgive me?"

Naruto looked at him with blank eyes, and the Kage tried a different tactic," I was planning on giving you this for something else, but here." He handed Naruto a medallion. It had a Sand Wolf howling at a full moon embossed on it.

The Kage said," That is a symbol of my and Gaara's clan. I would like you to consider us your family, since you have none of your own."

Naruto nodded, his good mood back in full force. He said," Thank you, Kazekage-sama."

The Kazekage said," It is I who should be thanking you. You have done something that no Kage has ever done."

Naruto was in awe that he had done something that not even a Kage had done. He didn't know what it was though.

Kankuro was shocked that his father would say something like that. The ANBU were shocked as well. Everyone waited to hear what Naruto had done that no Kage had ever done.

The Kazekage said," You, Uzumaki Naruto, defeated the greatest enemy of all Kages past and present. That enemy is the vile fiend known as paperwork. For that, you have the gratitude of Suna, and most likely Konoha too."

Everyone sweat dropped when he said that. Naruto took it in stride," I have to. I'm going to be Hokage. I can't protect the village if I'm stuck doing boring paperwork all day. Believe it."

Everyone smiled at the young boy. The Hokage said," Well Naruto, it's time to go. I thank you again, Kazekage-dono, for allowing Naruto to come here."

The Kazekage nodded, and said," It was no problem. Paperwork is an evil act that should be banned. Alas, we common Kages don't have that power, so Naruto will be considered a hero here, if not in Suna in general, then by my family and those that take my office after I'm gone."

Inside both the Kages minds, two chibi-Kages were bouncing around happily while thoughts of a certain orange book ran through their minds.

Wiping small nosebleeds, the two Kages parted ways.

On the way back, Naruto was happy as could be. He had a family now. Not a real family, but one that was close enough. He already saw the three Sand siblings as his own brothers and sister. Now he had been unofficially adopted into the clan.

Sarutobi looked at his young charge. He knew that as soon as the council got wind of him learning a jutsu native to another village, in another country at that, they wouldn't be happy. He sighed softly to himself," Naruto, I hope you are ready."

-0-0-

AN: Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnddddddddddddddddddddddddddd...DONE. This was a beast to write, but I wanted to get through all the events in this story. Because of that, next chapter will be five years in the future. So, in the next chapter, there is going to be a gap, and all the major clans heirs will be twelve. Please understand that.

Now, I tried to be funny and serious at the same time. I hope I pulled it off semi-well. Now, this is going to be a strange thing. In this one, I don't make Kakashi into a complete ass. I also will try to make Sasuke a little more likable than usual. Sakura however, you will have to see. This is going to be separated into arcs, much like the actual thing. The first part is going to be the fight between factions in the village, and will mostly focus on such things. The next arc is going to focus on those outside the village meaning harm to our heroes. And yes, there will be heroes, plural here. Naruto is obviously one, and the rest, you'll have to guess. I plan on not being boring with this, so even when I'm focusing on internal problems, I'll still have some outside interaction. Just to let you know, the villain of the first arc is Danzo. A bit of history with Danzo. History of my feelings of the man anyway. I don't like him. In fact, I hate him. He doesn't like Tsunade-hime. All bow before the power of Tsunade-hime. You might be able to see why I don't like him. If you can't understand, it's something to do with the fact that Tsunade is one of my favorite characters. Hell, next to Gai and Lee, she is my favorite character. So, Danzo is not a favorite. I know it might be childish to not like him because I like Tsunade, but I can't help it. Sorry.

Now, I'll end this ridiculously long note, so word to your hampster. Peace.

EDIT: I deleted this a while back, but I feel that if I change a few things I should be able to make this story work, so I'm going to post it again. For those that liked this story, here it is again. Peace again.


	2. Five Years Later: The Exam

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Don't sue me.

Here is chapter two of Naruto the Puppeteer. In this one, five years have passed, and Naruto is prepared to graduate the academy. Now, let's get it on. Chapter two, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

-0-0-

Five years had passed since Naruto had stood in Suna and got permission to learn puppetry. He woke up at seven, and did his morning ritual. He finished up and went to his latest creation. It was his masterpiece, a magnificent piece of work. He tapped on the side, and it popped open, revealing the hollow insides. He moved into it, and pulled the door shut. He sent out chakra strings to the various locations on the work, and it began moving. His greatest work, Shukaku was complete. He extended a chakra string through the one point that allowed it, and using it opened the door. He stepped through, and the string deftly flicked, closing the door and activating the lock and traps in one fluid movement. He liked that set up. No one but someone who could use chakra strings could open the door. And since the control is so extreme to do so, it was near fail safe.

He strode down the steps, each movement sure of itself and with purpose. Today was the day he became a ninja. He had studied, and his control is almost as good as Tsunade of the Sannin. He knew at least a dozen jutsu already, and he had created at least ten puppets. He kept only a few on him though. He had two sealed into scrolls which he kept on his person at all times. He also had Shukaku, which he was currently using to get around. He went out the door and into the day.

As he walked down the street, he saw that several people were eying him warily. He almost laughed at them all. Almost.

He finally made it to the academy, and used his ever-useful chakra strings to open the doors. He checked his watch from within the puppet. He had just enough time to get to the class. He stomped off down the hall, the walls shaking slightly from his passage. He finally reached the door to his classroom, and got out. He sealed Shukaku into a scroll and opened the door. He was just in time, and quietly slipped into a seat next to Hyuuga Hinata.

Iruka showed up a moment later, and looked at the class, which was talking animately. Except for a few, no one was even noticing him. He sighed, and did the only thing he could in this situation.

"SHUT UP NOW!"

Everyone immediately silenced themselves. Iruka nodded, and said," Today you will all be taking the graduation exam. If you pass, you will be official ninja of Konoha. If you don't pass, see you again next year. Now, let's begin with the written portion."

The two teachers passed out the papers, and the test began. An hour later, the papers were collected. Naruto had a small cup on his desk, with some water in it. As Mizuki got his paper, he quickly slipped a small amount of powder into the water. Seconds later, Naruto drained the water. As he left, Mizuki smirked.

They went outside for the throwing portion of the test. Iruka began calling names, and they went forward, throwing the kunai and shuriken. Iruka marked them silently. Then Naruto was called, and he went forward. He aimed carefully, and threw his weapons. They all missed completely. Everyone laughed at him. He hung his head.

Next was the Taijutsu portion. He didn't do any better in that. It was embarrassing. Finally, the last portion was upon them. The Ninjutsu portion. This was the only part that mattered, thank god. He knew he could do this.

People were called into the other room, and each one was tested in the three basic academy jutsu. Some people came back in with a forehead protector, some without. Then only two were left. Iruka called out," Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto went into the other room, ignoring the whispers of 'dead last', 'loser', or 'dobe'. He shut the door behind him, and stood before Iruka and Mizuki. He waited, and Iruka said," Alright Naruto. I want to see you transform into either me or Mizuki, replace yourself with something, and produce three clones. Go."

Naruto went through the hand seals, and called out," Henge."

He turned into Iruka. Or it might have been Iruka. He was covered in wrinkles and age spots. He looked eighty.

Iruka didn't say anything, just marked his score. He waved for him to continue. Naruto went through the hand seals, and called out," Kawarami."(is that how you spell it?)

He disappeared, and a box of tissue was where he was before. He quickly replaced himself again, reappearing in his original spot. Iruka marked his score and said," Next up is the Bushin. You need at least three good, healthy clones. Go."

Naruto nodded, went through the seals, and called out," Bushin."

He knew something was very wrong the moment he said it. A single puff of smoke appeared, and an almost dead bushin appeared. Iruka sighed and said," Naruto, you fail."

Mizuki said," Iruka, perhaps we can let him pass. He did manage to make a clone. Let's let it slide."

Iruka shook his head and said," No, Mizuki. Regulations state that he has to make three healthy clones. One sub-standard one is not going to cut it."

Naruto was already heading for the door. He disappeared through it, never noticing the face Mizuki was making.

He went outside and tried to use the tree climbing exercise to get into his favorite spot. He didn't even make it a second step. He fell as he tried to climb. He said," This is weird. My control is shot all to hell." He sat down on the swing, and stared forlornly. Soon children ran out of the academy, and parents greeted their kids. Some however, gave him the evil eye. He shrugged, too used to it to care. The students began to leave, and soon Naruto was alone. He sighed again, and heard a person approaching. He turned around to see Mizuki standing there.

Mizuki was sneering inwardly at the boy, but his face was carefully schooled into a neutral expression. He said," Hey Naruto. Look, I'm sorry about the test, but Iruka is rather strict, as you know."

Naruto said," I know, Mizuki-sensei. But what do you want?"

Mizuki gave a great effort to control the urge to smack this boy and said," I have to tell you, there is another way to become a ninja."

Naruto immediately became eager, and said," Really, tell me Mizuki-sensei."

Mizuki smiled at him, thinking 'hook, line, and sinker.' He said," You need to get into the Hokage tower, tonight after everyone has left. In the Hokage's office, there is a secret room, with a scroll. It's big and bulky. Take this scroll and learn one jutsu from it, and you will be passed to be a Genin."

Naruto jumped up, yelling," Yatta. I'm going to pass."

Mizuki smiled at him, such innocence. He said," Don't count your kunai before they are thrown, Naruto. You will have to be careful, and there are a lot of ways to screw up on this."

Naruto nodded, then bolted off. Mizuki almost indulged in the greatest stress reliever of all, sinister laughter. But he held it in.

Elsewhere, two figures were meeting. One was an old man with only one arm, and the other was the smartest kunoichi of the year, Haruno Sakura. The old man, who's name was Danzo, said," So, the boy didn't pass?"

Sakura said," No, master. He failed once again."

Danzo smirked, and said," Good. Perhaps we won't need the skills of those two missing nin for this after all. Good work or finding this out, Sakura."

Sakura nodded, pleased that her master was pleased with her. She bowed, and disappeared as he dismissed her with a nod.

That night, Naruto was prepared for his infiltration of the Hokage tower. Whatever was causing him problems with his control was fine now, and he had three puppets ready for this job. He had cast a mild Genjutsu on his clothes, transforming them into black, and had a black bandanna around his vibrant hair, hiding it completely. He was ready.

There were four guards in the Hokage tower at night. He knew because he had prepared for such an event, and had scouted the security. He silently moved to the location that he had picked for infiltration. It was a roof that was close to the tower, and the edge was even with the window in the tower. He got to that edge, and carefully manipulated his chakra string to slid in the almost imperceptible crack at the bottom of the window. The string extended to the lock on the inside of the window and flicked it open with a slight click. Then four more chakra strings reached out from the other fingers in his hand, and lifted the window. Naruto took a step back, and jumped towards the window.

He flew through the window, rolling along the floor. He stopped just shy of the wall, and jumped up. He went up the stairs after a moment to listen. After he had gone up about fifty stairs, he heard a set of voices, talking as they made their rounds. Naruto disappeared into a closet, and waited. Five chakra strings were waiting on the floor.

Naruto felt two chakra signatures coming towards his strings, and after a moment, one of them was right over them. They snapped up to the locations of certain tenketsu, one on each limb, and the last at the head. The man snapped to attention, and turned to attack his fellow. The other man said," What are you doing?"

The one Naruto was controlling said," I don't know, I'm not doing this."

The other stopped for just a second, and that was all that was needed, the man pounded him into the ground. Then the one string on his head forced it to snap, knocking the man out in but a moment.

Naruto came out of the closet and continued up. He reached the outer office of the Hokage, and quickly used a chakra string to unlock the door. He entered the office of Sarutobi, and looked around. He had to find the safe.

He found it about ten minutes later behind the picture of Yondaime. He quickly got the combination down, and opened the door. He looked into the hidden safe, and saw the scroll. He grabbed it and bolted. He shut the door and twisted the knob, and was about to place the picture of Yondaime back on the wall. But before he could replace it, the doors to the office opened, and Sarutobi stepped through.

For about three seconds neither moved, then Naruto went through some hand seals and yelled out," Oiroke no Jutsu."

He transformed into a beautiful girl, completely nude, with wisps of smoke covering her private parts. Sarutobi flew backwards, a massive nosebleed visible as he blacked out.

Naruto changed back and jumped out the window, heading towards the forest. He had a jutsu to learn.

Back in the office, two ANBU came to the aid of the Hokage, who was quickly woken up. As he realized what was happening, he said," Gather every Jounin and Chunin in the village. Tell them to find Uzumaki Naruto. I want him brought back alive."

the two masked ANBU nodded, and disappeared in twin columns of smoke.

Naruto sat down in a clearing, and opened the scroll. He read the first jutsu. He said," Kage Bushin no Jutsu? I get to learn that when I make Genin. Next."

He opened the scroll further, and saw a seal. He smirked, and applied chakra to the seal, which didn't reveal a thing, but changed the scroll. He looked at the changed scroll, and saw words appearing on it. He read," Congratulations on finding the secret portion of the Forbidden Scroll. This is only available to those that use chakra on the seal and have a kekkei genkai. You have the chakra signature of the Uzumaki Clan. The Uzumaki clan is renowned for it's imperceptible Genjutsu skills. No one can escape the Genjutsu cast by a competent Uzumaki. Your bloodline reflects this, by allowing you to use Genjutsu that no one else can match. Not even the final form of the Sharingan can match you in these. It is with great honor that I give you, the Akuma Kumi Kekkei Genkai." As he finished reading, the words vanished, replaced by others. Naruto leaned in closer, and read.

Half an hour later, Iruka found Naruto. He yelled," Naruto, give it up, it's over."

Naruto stood and rubbed the back of his head and said," Ah, Iruka-sensei, you found me. I didn't even learn a jutsu from the scroll. Guess this means I fail, right?"

Iruka said," What are you talking about? Who told you such things?"

Naruto said," Mizuki-sensei said that if I stole this scroll and learned a jutsu from it, I could pass and become a Genin. But I got so caught up in that stuff on my bloodline that I didn't even get a jutsu from the scroll."

Iruka felt very, very bad right then. He heard a noise, like a big piece of metal flying towards them. He said," Naruto, move." He jumped into the way as a massive shuriken came into view. He got hit in the side with the big piece of metal as Mizuki landed on a tree branch, already in battle armor.

Iruka said," Mizuki, you betray the village?"

Mizuki said," Quiet you. Naruto, give me the scroll."

Iruka yelled," Naruto, whatever you do, don't give him the scroll. Keep it away from him at all costs."

Mizuki yelled," You need to shut up, Iruka. Naruto, don't listen to him. He hates you just as much as anyone else. You know why you are hated? Do you want to know?"

Iruka yelled," NO! Mizuki, don't, it's forbidden."

Naruto said," Why I'm hated? Why?"

Mizuki said," Our history books tell a lie, kid. When the Kyuubi attacked us twelve years ago, it wasn't killed. No mortal, no matter how powerful, couldn't kill that beast. So the Yondaime did the next best thing, and sealed it. He didn't seal it into just anything though, he sealed it into a newborn baby. You. The reason you are hated is because of the demon inside of you. YOU ARE THE KYUUBI NO KITSUNE THAT NEARLY DESTROYED THE VILLAGE, KILLED OUR GREATEST LEADER, AND LEFT HUNDREDS ORPHANED, INCLUDING IRUKA!"

Naruto's world shattered at that moment, and he said," No, it's not true, it can't be true. I'm not a demon, I can't be. I'm going to be Hokage."

Mizuki said," Believe it, brat. You are the Kyuubi, a demon. And as such, you don't deserve a place among us upstanding citizens. Good bye demon brat." He removed his second shuriken and threw it at Naruto. Naruto froze, unable to move at all. The shuriken came closer.

And hit Iruka. He had moved, despite the pain he must be in from the first shuriken. He now had two hunks of metal in him, one in his side, one in his back. He stared down at Naruto with tears in his eyes, as Naruto asked," Why?"

Iruka said," When my parents died, I was devastated. They both died in the Kyuubi attack, and I had no one to give me attention. So I pulled pranks and was generally a clown. You remind me of myself. Your not a bad person, you just crave the attention of others. Now, I want you to go, run as far as you can. Don't stop for anything, and whatever you do, don't let Mizuki get the scroll."

Naruto nodded, and ran off. Mizuki said," Iruka, why did you save him? He's the demon that killed your parents."

Iruka pulled the shuriken out of his side and threw it at Mizuki, who caught it deftly as it passed him. Iruka said," I did it because he isn't the fox that killed my parents. If anything, I should thank him for keeping the demon that killed them at bay, not fear and hate him for something he can't control. He isn't the fox, he's Uzumaki Naruto, citizen and future Hokage of the Leaf."

Mizuki said," Well, let's go kill a future Kage. I'll deal with you later." He jumped off, and Iruka moved in pursuit.

Iruka caught up with Naruto after about ten minutes of chasing, and said," Naruto, give me the scroll, and get back to the Hokage. Tell him what happened, and get reinforcements."

Naruto threw several shuriken at Iruka, who dodged, and landed. He said," Well, how did you know I wasn't Iruka?" He changed back into Mizuki.

Naruto smirked and transformed into Iruka. He said," Because I'm him."

Mizuki snarled and said," Why do you care for the boy. He's a demon, and like any demon, he is going to use that scroll for power, just like I would. He's a lot like me, will do anything for power."

Iruka said," Yes, a demon would do that exact thing."

In the trees, Naruto began to tear up. Iruka was just like the rest of them.

Iruka continued," But Naruto won't do that. He isn't a demon, he's a great person and a fantastic ninja that I am proud to say is a friend."

Naruto's breath hitched at that. But Mizuki just laughed and said," Whatever. I'm very glad that I slipped that serum to him today." Both Naruto and Iruka were wondering what he was talking about. Mizuki continued," I gave him a little gift after I collected that written portion of the test. It's a special drug that messes with chakra control. The dose I gave him should have left Jiraiya of the Sannin unable to use chakra at all."

Iruka said," And he still did what he did? He must have control that is unheard of."

Mizuki said," Whatever. You won't get a chance to find out. I said I was going to save you for later, but you've pissed me off. Die, Iruka." He threw his shuriken at Iruka again. Iruka closed his eyes and waited for the end.

Naruto jumped out and landed on the shuriken, forcing it down to the ground. He said," You won't hurt Iruka-sensei, teme. I won't let you."

Mizuki laughed and said," What are you going to do demon? I'm an elite Chunin, you're not even a Genin. What could you do. I'll defeat you with one blow." He prepared to charge.

Naruto smirked and said," I have to thank you, Mizuki-teme. If you didn't trick me into going after this scroll, I would never have found out about my clan or bloodline. Feel honored that I use this on you. It's the first time I've used it." He pointed his right index finger at Mizuki and yelled," Akuma Kumi: Kumi Ichi!" From his finger, a pure white line of chakra flew at Mizuki faster than could be followed by most. It hit it's target, and he became blank faced.

Mizuki stared around, and saw absolutely nothing as far as he could see. It was just a plain white place. He looked around, and realized that he had to be in a Genjutsu. He formed the seal needed, and said," Kai." Nothing happened. He tried again," Kai."

Still nothing. He said once again, more forcefully," Kai!"

Nothing. He began to panic, and yelled out," KAI! KAI! KAI!"

He didn't see any difference. He screamed, his yells echoing back at him off of nothing.

Naruto and Iruka looked at he repeatedly said Kai. Finally Naruto had enough of him screaming his lungs out, and pulled out a scroll. He looked at Iruka and said," I'm trusting you because you trusted me. Don't make me regret it." He unrolled the scroll and pushed some chakra into it, and out popped a puppet. He placed his free hand on it, and attached the chakra strings. It clicked as it stood, fully ready.

It was a strange piece, with eight arms and two legs. It's body was segmented, and it's arms came out of the top one. It's legs came out of the middle section. The final section was bloated, and had a tail with a deadly stinger on it. It also had two wings on it's back. Naruto twitched his fingers, and the puppet flew forward, and stabbed Mizuki with it's stinger. He fell down as the stinger retracted. Naruto went forward and said," Akuma Kumi: Kumi Ichi, Kai." Mizuki suddenly seemed more at peace.

Iruka said," Naruto, what was that? I've never seen anything like that. And what was the puppet?"

Naruto said," When I stole the scroll, Iruka-sensei, I saw a seal on it right at the beginning. I used some chakra, and it changed the scroll. It told me that I was a member of the Uzumaki Clan, who had a Kekkei Genkai. It told me about my Kekkei Genkai, which apparently is a series of Genjutsu that are on par with Tsukyomi from the final form of the Sharingan. They are the Akuma Kumi, the Demon Circles. They basically make your target live for as long as you want them to in a circle of hell, with the punishment that comes with it. The one I used was Circle One, known as Limbo. It's a void, with absolutely nothing in it. Imagine living for the rest of your life with absolutely nothing, no people, no sights, no smells. It's like you don't even exist. That is what Mizuki-teme had gone through. The Akuma Kumi cannot be dispelled except by the caster, by using the correct words to release it or being hit hard enough to cause it to drop. As for my puppet, I have five of them. That one is called Suzumebachi. I've been studying puppetry for five years now, and I'm just now getting good at it. I don't want others to know about it, because when it's revealed, I'm sure that the council will try to kill me for using a Suna technique."

Iruka nodded, then said," Naruto, did you hear what Mizuki said, about the serum he slipped you?"

Naruto nodded, and said," Yeah. I was wondering, since you know it was set up, could I try again to take the test?"

Iruka nodded slightly, and Naruto jumped up and down. He said," OK, here we go." He made hand seals, and said," Tsuchi Bushin no jutsu." Mud flowed up and formed three clones of Naruto. One disappeared after a moment, one used Henge to change into a kunai, which the last threw at Iruka. He tried to dodge, but before the kunai could even hit him, it was substituted. Naruto landed in front of Iruka, and the kunai continued to fly at them. Naruto snagged it out of the air, and threw the kunai back at the clone. It hit, and both became mud, which fell back to the ground.

Iruka was amazed at the level of skill he showed. He said," Naruto, you pass." He removed his head band and wrapped it around Naruto's head. Naruto jumped up and yelled," YATTA!"

Iruka bopped him on the head and said," Come on Naruto, let's get the traitor and that scroll back to the Hokage. He needs to know what happened."

Naruto made another Earth Clone, who grabbed Mizuki. Naruto sealed his puppet back into it's scroll. They walked off.

They reached the Hokage tower, dragging Mizuki back. The ninja who saw them were stunned. Not only was the demon not in chains, but he was wearing the symbol of Konoha shinobi. They were confused by what was happening. Iruka and Naruto went up the tower in time to see Sarutobi call off the hunt. He turned to Iruka and Naruto, saying," I take it some things happened."

Naruto and Iruka went into his office, and sat down when invited to do so. The Hokage said," Now, explain what happened."

Iruka and Naruto went through the events of the evening. They left nothing out, not Naruto discovering his bloodline, not him learning of Kyuubi, not his use of puppet jutsu. All of it was told, and the Hokage accepted it. He said," You both will be awarded for a B-rank mission, which will go on your records. Now, you didn't learn any jutsu from the scroll, right Naruto-kun?"

Naruto shook his head vigorously. He said," No, Hokage-jiji. I saw the seal right after Kage Bushin, and tried it out. I didn't try to learn Kage Bushin since you said that you would teach it to me when I was a Genin."

Sarutobi nodded, and took the scroll, placing it on the floor next to his desk. He said," Good, Naruto-kun. I'll teach you the Kage Bushin tomorrow, as I promised. Now, it's late, and you are a growing boy. Time for you to sleep."

Naruto said," I don't feel a bit...A bit...Tir...Tired." He sank in his chair, out like a light.

The elderly Hokage looked at his young friend, as did Iruka. Finally, Iruka said," Hokage-sama, I have a request." The old man nodded for him to continue. He said," I want to adopt Naruto-kun. He's been alone for far too long."

Sarutobi said," I'll have the paperwork drawn up tomorrow. By the time you bring Naruto to me to learn Kage Bushin, it should be ready. You can sign then, and he will be legally under your care. If you want, take him to your apartment to sleep tonight."

Iruka nodded, and picked up the small boy. He grimaced at how thin he was. He turned and left the room.

Sarutobi pulled the picture of the Fourth down, and opened the safe. He placed the scroll back in and closed the safe, saying," What do you think of him, Hawkeye?"

A man appeared in the corner of the room, and strode into the light. He had light brown hair, and his one visible eye was brown as well. Most of his hair as well as his left eye was covered by a hat pulled down at an angle. He wore the attire of a Jounin, but wore a brown trench coat over the rest of his clothes. He sat down and said," The boy has as much promise as Minato did. He's an official ninja now, right?" Sarutobi nodded, and the man continued," I want to make a request for him. I want to train him. I've seen the current class, and two of your Genin are going to be apprentices. He would be the odd one out, and I feel that I could train him better one-on-one."

Sarutobi said," Are you sure? After all, you have been gone for the last fifteen years. Are you sure that you can handle a Genin student?"

Hawkeye said," I can handle him, Old Man. I never got a chance to see the Akuma Kumi in action. I want to train this boy. Think of it as a sign of respect for my old team mate, by training his son to be just as good as he was."

The two of them turned to look at the picture of the Yondaime, who was smiling at them. Sarutobi sighed and said," Fine. I have no objections. But the council might, Hawkeye. They cater to the last loyal Uchiha's every whim. If they get wind that the Fourth's old team mate is training him, then they might just try to force you to train Sasuke."

Hawkeye's one visible eye grew hard as he bit out," I don't care if they want me to marry the princess of Snow, I don't bow to the whim of civilians. No disrespect to the shinobi on the council, but they aren't the problem with the council. They want me to train the Uchiha, then I'll have to see his skill for myself, and decide on my own if he is worth the time. He probably won't be though."

Sarutobi nodded, and said," Well, I'm tired, and unless there is something else, then I'm going to go home for the night. The paperwork won't show up for the next round until the morning."

Hawkeye nodded, and stood. He said," Thank you for listening to my request, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi said," Off with you, and get some sleep. You're going to need it for Naruto-kun."

Hawkeye nodded, and disappeared.

A few miles away, five people were meeting. Three were currently in a huddle, and the other two were waiting. The three in a huddle were Danzo, Sakura, and one of Danzo's pet projects, Sai. Danzo said," So, you're certain that the boy has passed now?"

Sai nodded, and said," Hai, Danzo-sama. He was drugged during the test today, and he showed Iruka that he is capable of the skills."

Danzo nodded, and said," Very well then, we need to prepare." He stood up and turned to the two waiting people. One was a man with blonde hair, which fell over one eye and was held up in a pony tail in the back. The other seemed to be a hunch back with a dangerous looking tail. They both wore black cloaks with red clouds on them.

The hunch back said," It's about time. I hate waiting."

The blonde said," It's not a good idea to keep Sasori-sempai waiting, yeah."

Danzo raised his one arm in a placating gesture, and said," Please, forgive me. I needed to consult with my subordinates. Now, to business."

Sasori said," Yes, to business. We have need of the one called Uzumaki Naruto. I have been assigned to capture him. You want him out of your way for your plans to go through. This means that we want the same thing, Uzumaki Naruto out of Konoha. You are willing to help us so that we can get him, correct?"

Danzo said," Of course. I will use my connections to get him assigned a mission outside the walls of Konoha with all haste, and then send you the details of such. Now, as a sign of good faith in our alliance, I have a small gift for the two of you. I know you consider yourselves artists, and want to pass on your art forms. So I offer you my two subordinates, Sai and Sakura. They are both very talented. Sai has a rather unique ability to use chakra to cause anything he draws come to life to attack. Sakura has no special talent, but she is exceptionally smart, and has near perfect chakra control."

Sasori and the blonde man looked at each other, and Sasori said," I'll take the girl with the control. She'll need it to learn my art."

The other man nodded, and said," Then I guess I can teach this brat the secrets to my art, yeah."

the two teens walked forward and stood before they new teachers. Sai looked at his instructor and said," Who are you?"

The blonde man said," I am the great Deidara, the bakuhatsu tatsujin."

The hunch back form of Sasori pulled off it's cloak, revealing a body that was grotesque. A panel on the side popped out, and a teenage boy climbed out. His red hair was short, and his eyes were dull and lifeless. He said," I'm Akasuna no Sasori. I'm going to teach you the greatest art known to man, girl."

Sakura said," What art would that be, Sasori-sensei?"

Sasori smirked, she was already trained. He said," The magnificent art of Puppetry."

-0-0-

This was murder to write. I hope you all like this chapter, because I really liked it. Now, a few things that need to be said. In the original chapter two, I had Naruto fail to produce a bushin, and gave no reason for his lack of control. I was called on that, and I realized that I couldn't give a good reason. That has be rectified, I hope. Also, I originally had Naruto gain a summoning contract after learning a powerful Raiton jutsu. I've changed that into the Demon Circles. The actual idea behind this Kekkei Genkai is oddly enough, Dante's Inferno. I've never watched the movie, but I looked up what the various circles of hell are like based on it. The result is the Demon Circles. I originally wanted it to be called the Hell Circles, but the translator I use didn't come with a translation for Hell. I will say this, I love anything to do with the deadly sins, and that was one of the big things in the choice to make this ability. Now, I have one final thing I need to do. From now on, I will be giving translations for the various jutsu found in the chapter. Here we go.

Henge: Transformation

Kawarami: Substitution

Bushin: Clone

Oiroke no Jutsu: Sexy Technique

Kage Bushin no Jutsu: Shadow Cone Technique

Akuma Kumi: Demon Circle

Akuma Kumi: Kumi Ichi: Demon Circle: Circle One

Kai: Release

Suzumebachi: Wasp

Akuma Kumi: Kumi Ichi, Kai: Demon Circle: Circle One, Release

Tsuchi Bushin no Jutsu: Earth Clone Technique

bakuhatsu tatsujin: Explosion Expert

Akasuna no Sasori: Sasori of the Red Sands

Here is the list of the jutsu and possible words you don't know. I'm not too fussed with telling you what each suffix added to names mean. Now, two final details that need to be address. One, I have a poll on my profile. It's to find out what you all think of Naruto learning the Human Puppet technique. I have a plan for if he learns it, and it won't be that Sasori teaches it to him after finding out he's a puppet user. I'll need to know in a few chapters, because the moment of truth is coming rather soon. Depending on the answer to the poll, my story can take one of two paths. The other thing that needs to be addressed is, as of now, I have figured out who is going to be with Naruto in this. There will be two girls for him. This is because he is the last of two clans, and he needs a wife for each of them. I know you will recognize one, but the other is going to be a surprise. One of the two girls is going to be Kurenai. I just like this pairing. It's one of my favorite ones. And because in this, Naruto is going to be capable of using Genjutsu, including some that haven't been seen in a while, since his mother died. That should attract the resident Genjutsu Mistress. The other girl is, as I said, a surprise. Trust me when I say that it is rare. It's so rare, that the character isn't available on the list of characters on this site. This should tell you something. So I'll end this abnormally long note, and say my final word. Peace.


	3. Hawkeye's Teachings

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Don't sue me.

Here is chapter three of Naruto the Puppeteer. I hope you like this one, because it will show some rather nice things. It will have Naruto's sensei, him learning the Kage Bushin jutsu, and Iruka formally adopting him. Also, I've decided to close the poll on whether Naruto should learn the Human Puppet technique. He will be learning it. Now, let's get it on.

I've extended this chapter. I hope you all like the newer version.

-0-0-

The next morning, Naruto shot up in the bed he found himself in. He smelled something, something that was foreign to him. He looked around, not recognizing his crappy apartment. He got out of bed, and saw that his clothes were neatly folded over the arm of a chair near him. He stood up and dressed, wondering what was going on. He finished getting dressed, and walked down the hall. He came to a small but homely living room, and a small kitchen next to it. Iruka was standing at the stove preparing something. Naruto wandered into the room, and said," Iruka-sensei, what's going on? Where am I?"

Iruka looked up and said," Naruto, good, you're awake. It's nearly noon, I was just about to get you. Sit down, lunch will be ready soon."

Naruto was even more confused, but sat down anyway. He waited, and less than a minute later, a sandwich was placed before him. It was a grilled cheese sandwich. Naruto looked at it for a moment, and Iruka said," It's not much, but it's all I could make on short notice."

Naruto looked at Iruka, and he saw tears in his eyes. Naruto whispered," Thank you, Iruka-sensei."

He began eating, and for some reason, he was slow about it. He seemed to be savoring each bite. Iruka finally asked," What are you doing Naruto? You never eat slow."

Naruto looked at his teacher, and said," I eat fast in public because to be honest, it's what is expected of me. I eat fast at my home in case someone is spying on me. I've gone to great lengths to make people believe I am what they see.

"Also, this is the first food I've ever had that wasn't garbage or ramen. It deserves to be savored."

Iruka looked down at the floor at this last part. He was at least partially responsible for that. But Naruto's next question stopped his moping," Where am I? What am I doing here?"

Iruka sighed, and said," Naruto, you're in my apartment at the moment, and later on today I'll be formally adopting you."

He saw the look in Naruto's eyes, and quickly said," But that is only if you want to. I won't force you to do anything."

Naruto stared at him and said in a small voice," Thank you."

Iruka looked at the normally exuberant blonde and said," It's no problem. You done?"

Naruto finished his sandwich and they stood. Iruka said," The Hokage wants you to come up to his office later today, but since it's nearly noon already, we'll head up now."

Naruto walked behind Iruka with a small smile on his face. Then as they walked out the door, Naruto suddenly changed, and became the happy, bouncing boy everyone knew. They walked down the street, ignoring the glares he received, and knew that they wouldn't attack today, not with an academy teacher there. They walked towards the tall tower in the distance, taking their time, enjoying the day.

At the Hokage tower, Hawkeye and Sarutobi looked at Naruto through the crystal ball. They were both smiling. On the desk was a small stack of papers. These would formally allow Iruka to adopt Naruto.

The Hokage said," So, any second thoughts?"

Hawkeye said," Yeah, second thoughts that I wasn't here to help him years ago. I wasn't even aware that Minato had married, much less had a kid."

The two men sat at the desk, and the Hokage said," Have you had any luck at all?"

Hawkeye said," No. I've not found the man that killed the old man. But I will, as soon as I perform my duties as a friend to Minato by helping his son."

Right then, Iruka and Naruto were fighting with the secretary. She seemed somewhat biased. Somewhat in the same way that Sasuke was somewhat obsessed with his brother's death by his hands. The woman was point blank denying them entrance to see the Hokage. Iruka sighed, and said," You need to at least check that he's available. He told me to bring Naruto here today."

The woman said," The Hokage is in a meeting, and will be in it for the rest of the day. Come back sometime else."

The doors opened, and a man stepped out. He stood next to the door and said," Now, why are you holding up our meeting, Secretary-san. You know that the Hokage doesn't like to be kept waiting."

The secretary said," Of cou...course, Hawkeye-san. I didn't know that you were waiting on them."

Hawkeye said," And what were you doing when the Hokage said, in my presence, that he was waiting on Umino Iruka and Uzumaki Naruto for his meeting?"

She was struck dumb, and after a moment, the Hokage himself stepped out. He said," Iruka-kun, Naruto-kun. Good to see you. Come on in." He stepped aside to let them pass. As they went passed, they had the distinct pleasure of hearing," Pack your things, and get out of here. Don't bother coming back."

Fifteen seconds later, the two men stepped back into the office, and Sarutobi said," ANBU, go get Anko-chan and tell her that she is my secretary for the day." From the corners, two men dropped the genjutsu that they were hiding under, saluted, and disappeared in twin puffs of smoke.

The Hokage sat down, and Hawkeye reclaimed his seat. For a moment, there was silence, then Iruka cleared his throat and asked," Hokage-sama, what is Hawkeye-sama doing here?"

Hawkeye answered," I'm here to meet my new student."

Two heads turned at him in unison. Naruto said," Me?"

Hawkeye nodded, and said," Indeed. I asked that you be my apprentice, and since you would be the odd one out in your class, it was agreed on by the Hokage. But first, I want to see how well you learn. So, I'm here to see you try your hand at Kage Bushin."

Naruto whipped around to face the Hokage so fast he might have gotten whiplash, and said," Hokage-jiji, is that true? Am I going to learn it now?"

Sarutobi nodded, and Naruto jumped up yelling," YATTA!"

A fist flew out and bopped him on the head. He turned an incredulous eye to Hawkeye and stared at him. The man laughed at him and said," You're intent is rather weak boy. I was dealing with worse when I was still in diapers."

Naruto said," Why did you hit me?"

Hawkeye said," I hit you for two reasons, one, is to prove that I'm willing to do so. I won't put up with the crap you are famous for. And the second reason is for you to drop the mask."

Iruka looked confused, but everyone else got it. Naruto sighed, and suddenly he changed. Physically he was the same, but something about him was very different from what most knew. He seemed to sit straighter, and his demeanor changed. He seemed to not be the idiot that everyone took him for anymore, but a young man who could do anything, and would do it. Naruto, in absolute seriousness," You know how hard it is to drop the mask?"

Hawkeye said," I know boy. Come on, let's go see if you can learn Kage Bushin. I'll be teaching it to you."

Naruto nodded, and the two left. As he left the room, he turned back and said," Iruka-sensei, I'll meet you back here later today."

Iruka nodded, and he disappeared. Iruka sighed, he felt a lot of things were happening around him, far too fast to keep up. He said," So, I need to sign these?"

With Naruto and Hawkeye, they were walking towards a training field, preparing to learn. They arrived at the training field, and Hawkeye said," Alright kid, here are the hand seals for Kage Bushin." He made the seals, or in this case seal, and with a poof, there was three Hawkeye standing there. Naruto nodded, and prepared to try his hand at these clones.

Two hours later, he was doing better. He could make five clones that looked just like him. He said," Hawkeye-sensei, I'm done."

Hawkeye looked up from the kunai he was cleaning, and said," Good. Well done. Now, make at least six, and have a battle royale with them."

Naruto nodded, and channeled chakra as he made the seal. With a poof, there were ten more Naruto. Naruto and his clones immediately began attacking. Hawkeye watched, and felt shame. Shame in how far the academy had fallen if they didn't recognize the raw talent and untapped potential in this boy. His form was sloppy, he left himself open, and he was definitely slow, but the potential is there. Finally Naruto defeated all the clones, and collapsed to the ground. Hawkeye stood up and went over to him. He held out a hand, and Naruto grabbed and felt himself being pulled up. Hawkeye said," That was very good, Naruto. You left yourself open far too much, but it's fine considering you didn't have anyone helping you in the first few years of the academy. We'll work on your form and survival instinct. One of the first rules of combat is that you know your limitations. See what the enemy has that you don't and plan accordingly. If they outnumber you and have you surrounded, you get up against something to prevent them from attacking your back. You have no defenses in the back, and it's far to easy to sneak up on someone in the middle of combat."

Naruto nodded, and they started walking back to the Hokage tower. Hawkeye said," Tomorrow, meet me here in front of the tower at eight. We're going to start on training."

Naruto nodded, and Hawkeye continued," I don't want to take missions right off the bat. You're as good as can be expected, but it's not good enough. I'm going to teach you to be the best. By the time the Chunin exams roll around, you are going to be the strongest genin of your generation, maybe even period." Naruto nodded again, and they walked up the tower in silence. When they reached the office of the Hokage, they looked at the two men sitting there. There was a scroll sitting on the desk between them. The Hokage said," Naruto, excellent. Did you learn it?"

Hawkeye answered before Naruto could," Of course he did. He's very talented."

The Hokage nodded, and said," Iruka was just discussing something with me. Here Naruto-kun." He hefted the scroll and passed it over to him. Naruto took the scroll and looked at it, and asked," What is this, Hokage-jiji?"

Sarutobi said," It's your mother's clan scroll."

Naruto's eyes got wide, and the elderly man continued," You gained the Akuma Kumi from your mother's clan, the Uzumaki clan. Since you have used the ability of your bloodline, it is time for you to have your clan heirlooms and scrolls. That is a storage scroll, and will have everything you could ever want to know about your mother's clan. I hope you find some answers in there."

Naruto nodded, and he held the scroll a little closer to himself. He asked," Who was my mother?"

Sarutobi sighed, and said," Her name was Uzumaki Kushina. She was originally from the Whirlpool country, and came to Konoha when the country was destroyed. Her entire clan was wiped out, and only she survived. She died giving birth to you, as she couldn't handle the stress of giving birth prematurely and during the Kyuubi attack to boot. She was the kindest person you could ever hope to meet, and had a fierce loyalty to her friends and loved ones. She was also known as the Crimson Death on the battlefield, since she was like a wild animal and would kill anyone in her way in battle."

Naruto nodded, and said," Thank you for telling me about her."

Iruka noticed that Naruto seemed down, and so he said," Come on Naruto, let's go home."

Naruto nodded, and the two left after a short nod from the Hokage. Hawkeye looked at his leader, and said," I hope you tell him soon about Minato. He's going to be hurt severely when he is told about his father, you know that right?"

Sarutobi said," Yes, I know. Well, I'm sure you have things to do. So I'll leave you to it."

Hawkeye nodded, and left quickly.

Elsewhere, Sai and Sakura were both training. Sakura was controlling a small puppet with one hand. It was a scorpion the size of her fist. Sai for his part was doing a ritual.

Deidara smirked at the boy as he said," This will hurt, yeah." He finished his work, the final seal placed. He pressed his hand against the base of Sai's neck and said," FUIN!"

Sai tried his hardest to not scream, but it was no use. This pain was unlike anything he had ever felt. His screams ripped from his throat like a wild animal, and Danzo and Sasori, who looked at the yelling, felt their hairs rise from it. Danzo said," I've trained him to never show any emotion whatsoever. For him to scream like that, it has to be worse than anything a human should feel."

Sasori said," According to Deidara, it is. Now, I need to go check on my student." He walked over to Sakura, who was now working with two puppets. She said," Sasori-sensei, I think I've got it."

Sasori looked at the two puppets battling each other, and said," Good, but don't get your hopes up. By the time I'm through with you, you will be more powerful than anyone else, with the exception of myself, in the art of puppetry."

Sakura said," What all can you do, Sasori-sensei?"

Sasori smirked, and said," Watch." He pulled out a scroll and ran some blood across it. With smoke beginning to billow from it, he threw it into the air, and it unraveled and exploded in a spectacular cloud of dust and smoke. Chakra strings flew out from Sasori from damn near every angle imaginable. Each one of the strings touched a glowing orb that the scroll had brought out. Then the dust and smoke cleared, and they saw it. A hundred puppets, all controlled by Sasori. He said," Is this good enough of a demonstration?"

Sakura nodded, and he sealed the puppets back up into the scroll. Then he said," Good. Now back to work. Until you come up with a move that is superior to that, you haven't gotten good enough."

Sakura nodded, and got back to work.

-time skip: two months-

Naruto woke up and began his morning routine. He took a quick shower, and got dressed. He sealed two puppets into a scroll, and climbed into Shukaku. He had been using it whenever he left his apartment lately. He moved out the door, activating his traps again, and wandered down the steps. He left the building, and made his way to the training grounds.

He and Hawkeye had been training intensively for the last two months, and it showed. His Taijutsu and Ninjutsu was through the roof. He had started work on his sixth puppet, and it was just now completed. Having Hawkeye for a sensei was very useful, because he could leave and be in Suna to get Naruto puppet parts quickly. Naruto had learned a bit about his sensei too. He was the Rookie of the Year when he was in the academy, and was teammates with the Fourth Hokage. Naruto smiled as he remembered that conversation.

-flashback-

Naruto and Hawkeye were training in their usual training grounds, and it was going well for Naruto. He was using Suzumebachi and was keeping his sensei away from him. Normally this would hinder the ninja, but Hawkeye was rather different. He was a ranged fighter, and was known for pinpoint accuracy. He flipped up two kunai and threw them at the puppet, where they caught in the joints of the wings, rendering them useless. Hawkeye said," Here I come Naruto." He flipped up another kunai, a different kind of one, and threw. It passed right by Naruto, and he stopped for a minute, and yelled," You missed Hawkeye-sensei. You never miss."

Hawkeye smirked, and in a flash of yellow chakra, was gone. Naruto turned halfway around, before two kunai was held at his head. Hawkeye said," Never get distracted in a fight, Naruto. It can be disastrous to you and your team if you have one. Never forget that lesson."

Naruto nodded, and said," Was that what I thought it was?" He fell down onto the ground in exhaustion.

Hawkeye sat down and said," If you mean was that the Hiraishin, then yes."

Naruto said," I know that jutsu, and only the Fourth knew it."

Hawkeye said," That is common misconception. The Fourth **created** the Hiraishin no Jutsu, but he wasn't the only one who knew it. He taught it to me."

Naruto said," Do you know the other one? The Rasengan?"

Hawkeye said," 'Fraid not. He taught me the Hiraishin, and taught our sensei the Rasengan. He taught his third original jutsu to our third teammate."

Naruto said," Third original jutsu? He only had two that he was famous for."

Hawkeye smirked and said," He was famous on the battlefield for Rasengan and Hiraishin, but he had another jutsu. He tried to convince our teammate to learn it, but she refused saying it was for perverts."

Naruto asked," What was that jutsu?"

Hawkeye said," Since he didn't get a chance to teach it to our female teammate, he allowed both me and our sensei to learn it. Its called the Oiroke no Jutsu."

Naruto looked at him, and said," The Fourth created the Oiroke no Jutsu?"

Hawkeye said," You know it?"

Naruto said," Of course I know it. I thought I invented it."

"What do you mean, Naruto?"

"I developed a jutsu designed to cause perverts to be revealed. Its a variant of the normal Henge, which I dubbed the Oiroke no Jutsu. I thought I was the first to make something like that."

"Well kid, you weren't. The Fourth created the jutsu to the best of my knowledge. Someone might have done it before but its not been heard of if that's the case. Now, let's try the lesson again. Remember, there should be nothing that can surprise you. Do not let yourself freeze, no matter what. You are good, but your against the Rookie of the Year from way back when, and I won't go easy on you."

Naruto stood back up, pulled the kunai from Suzumebachi and tossed them aside. Then what his sensei had told him came back to his brain, and he said," Sensei, you said you were the Rookie of the Year in your class, right?"

Hawkeye nodded slowly, wondering where this was going. Naruto said," Then you were paired with the best Kunoichi and the Dobe of the class, right?"

Another nod, and Hawkeye began to figure where it was going, so he said," Yes, Naruto, I was. My team was in fact the best of both genders and the worst in class."

Naruto nodded, and his eyes began sparkling as he said," Then that means that the Fourth was the Dobe of the class, right?"

Hawkeye finally realized just what was going on. He nodded, and said," Yes, our greatest Hokage was the worst in his class. Our village was led by a Dobe."

-flashback end-

Naruto arrived at the training ground and looked around. He saw his sensei standing in front of a memorial stone showing all the ninja who died to protect the village. He was next to a man with gravity defying gray hair and there was a boy standing a few feet away from him. Naruto stomped up, and Hawkeye turned and said," Ah, Naruto, good to see you again. Come on, we're going on a mission."

Naruto spoke from within Shukaku," So, we done enough training sensei?"

Hawkeye walked away and motioned for him to follow. He gazed at the boy, the Rookie of the Year, Uchiha Sasuke, and then turned and left too. Sasuke asked," Kakashi, was that Naruto?"

Kakashi said," It seems that there is more to Naruto than we thought."

With Naruto and Hawkeye, they walked into the Hokage tower, and up towards the office of Sarutobi. They stopped at the secretary, and Hawkeye said," Is the Hokage busy?"

The woman looked up and said," No, he's just giving out some missions. Go right on in."

The two went into the office to see Team Eight standing there demanding a better mission. Kiba said," Hokage-sama, give us a better mission. We've done the required amount of chores."

Kurenai looked at her student, and said," Yes, Hokage-sama. I'm formally requesting a C-ranked mission for Team Eight."

Sarutobi said," Well, since you requested it, let's see what's on the docket today. Ah, here's one. A guard mission to Wave. Easy enough for you. Would you like that?"

Kiba was about to yell, but Kurenai stopped him and said," Yes, Hokage-sama. Thank you."

Sarutobi nodded, and pressed the intercom, saying," He can come in now."

In a moment, the door opened again. Hawkeye and Naruto stepped out of the way as a drunk old man came in. He looked at the gathered ninja, and said," What, is this what my good money got. A bunch of kids? The one with the...the..." He stopped talking as he noticed the two standing closer to him. Or rather, the thing standing close to him. He said," What the hell is that? Is that thing alive?"

The others looked and for the first time noticed Hawkeye and Naruto. Kiba was shocked by the thing standing there, Kurenai was amazed, Shino was unreadable, and Hinata was scared. Then from the monster a voice emerged," This thing as you call me is a person and has a name."

A door popped open into a set of stairs on the side of the puppet, and Naruto walked down to the floor. He closed up the stairs and sealed the puppet, saying," Uzumaki Naruto, Puppeteer of Konoha at your service."

There was a silence, then the Hokage cleared his throat and said," Naruto, excellent timing. I have a message for you."

Naruto turned to look at him, and the Hokage held out a scroll. He said," This arrived for you today by messenger bird from Suna."

Naruto grabbed the scroll, and saw the seal on it. A sand wolf howling at the moon. The seal of the Kazekage's family. His adopted family. He broke the seal and unrolled the scroll. He began reading, and his eyes grew vacant, and he started drooling. The Hokage said," Naruto, is everything alright?"

Naruto nodded, and unrolled the scroll further. He bit his thumb and smeared some blood on the scroll, and another scroll popped out. He rolled up the first scroll, and placed it in one of his pockets. He unrolled the new scroll, and read. His eyes grew large, and he began laughing. The Hokage was concerned for his unofficial grandson, and said," Naruto, what is it?"

Naruto said," Its the best gift they could ever give me. The Kazekage was planning on giving me a gift when I made Genin, and its this scroll. It's one of the forbidden techniques of puppetry."

The Hokage said," What is it? If it's a bad thing, I'll have to make it classified so no one else can get it."

Naruto said," Before I tell you, Hokage-jiji, what is the law on the body of someone you kill? Is there anything that has to be done to it?"

The group was shocked that he would ask such a thing, but Hawkeye considered. A forbidden technique of puppetry, and the law on what has to be done to a body of someone you kill. He knew of only one technique would use such info. He smirked, this would be good.

Sarutobi said," If you kill someone, the body belongs to you, but only if it was in self defense. Any other time, it's the hunter-nins job to destroy the body. Why?"

Naruto smirked and said," They found Akasuna no Sasori's old workshop. It included his notes on his best skills."

Sarutobi paled, and said," You mean, that that scroll is..."

Naruto nodded," Hai. It is indeed his notes on creating and maintaining Hitokugutsu."

Kiba said," What the hell is that?"

Naruto said," Kugutsu is the art of using puppets as your weapon in battle. The creature I came in as was a puppet, one that I designed and created. But there is a limit on such a puppet. It's made from wood and metal, and has all the problems that come with it. But Hitokugutsu are different. They aren't made of wood or metal, but of flesh and bone. You take a dead body and make it a puppet. They are aptly called Human Puppets."

Everyone got a sick look in their eyes when he said that. Naruto gazed at the scroll again like it was his first born son. He began reading.

Finally, the old drunk said," Well, not to rush you or anything, but I want more protection than three kids."

Sarutobi said," You'll have to pay. From what I understand, you don't have much money, so we'll give you some credit. When you have money, you will pay what you owe, understand?"

The man said," I understand perfectly. I'm Tazuna, the super-awesome bridge builder. You kids need to protect me with your lives while I go back home and finish my bridge."

Sarutobi said," Hawkeye-kun. Do you want to go with them on this mission?"

Hawkeye said," Well, Naruto does need to know teamwork. I'll do it."

Sarutobi nodded, and said," So be it. Team Eight and Hawkeye will go, along with Naruto as Hawkeye's apprentice. Your task is protecting Tazuna-san and guarding him while he finishes his bridge. I'll leave travel arrangements to your Jounin senseis. Dismissed."

Hawkeye said," North gate, in one hour."

Kurenai said," Right. Pack for a few weeks."

The four Genin nodded, and they left to prepare. Naruto made it home in five minutes, and looked around. He gathered the few things he would need if he by chance got a corpse to make into a puppet, and packed them securely in a back pack. He sealed his clothes, food, and other necessities in scrolls. He got the scrolls for his other puppets. He didn't think he would need them all, but better safe than sorry. He finished packing in half an hour, and made for the north gate. He was there in fifteen minutes, so he had another fifteen before they left. He unrolled a scroll and unsealed a puppet, Suzumebachi. He made a shadow clone, and gave it the Wasp puppet. He unsealed Shukaku, and climbed in. He said," Let's go."

The rest of the team arrived ten minutes later to see the sand Tanuki battling with Naruto, who had a puppet that looked like a wasp. The wasp beat its wings, unleashing a barrage of senbon needles. The tail of the raccoon-dog blocked them, and then stabbed at Naruto. He was pierced, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Naruto popped the hatch and walked over to the fallen wasp, sealing it into its scroll. He then said," Are we ready to go?"

They nodded, and he climbed back into the puppet. He started off. The others followed.

They were walking for nearly three hours, and didn't seem to have a care in the world. Hinata was in the back with Naruto, trying to talk to the boy. And failing. Kiba was trying to chat up Hinata, and Shino was being his usual, quiet self. Tazuna was walking next to him. Kurenai and Hawkeye were leading.

They were walking along, and the only thing on the road was a small puddle. No one seemed to pay attention to it, but Hawkeye began falling back to the back of the group. As they passed, Naruto felt a presence in the puddle. The unlocking of his bloodline had made sensing genjutsu easy for him, even if he still couldn't cast any beyond his Akuma Kumi. As they passed, two ninja rose from the puddle and rushed Hawkeye. They wrapped their battle chain around him, and pulled, separating him into thirds. The pieces fell as they said," One down."

They rushed for Kiba, and started to wrap the chain around him, saying," Two down."

Out of no where, a tail whacked one over the head. He fell down, and the tail stabbed into the chain, pinning it to the ground. The group looked up to see Shukaku staring at them. He said," You are going down, little ninja."

They disengaged the chain, and rushed towards Tazuna, trying to complete their objective. They raised their claws, and prepared to strike.

Six kunai stuck each of them, all in the head. Their eyes, nose, mouth, and two in the back of the head, one in the center of the head, one at the base where the neck connected. They both fell over dead.

Hawkeye jumped down and said," Good work guys."

The group all looked at Hawkeye, hale and hearty and in one piece. They turned to look at where he was in pieces, but he was not there. Instead, there was a log cut into pieces. Hawkeye said," I don't have much in the way of super jutsu, but sometimes a good ol' Kawarami will do the trick."

They all nodded, and Hawkeye turned to Tazuna and said," Now, explain why there are ninja after you. And don't lie. I don't like it when people lie."

Tazuna gulped, and nodded.

-0-0-

This is the better version of chapter three. For those of you who didn't like the old one, here's a new one for you. I think I've gotten passed my writers block, so updates should be coming quickly. So I hope you are all liking it.


	4. Wave

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Don't sue me.

Alright, here is chapter four of Naruto the Puppeteer. In this, the mission to wave commences, and they get to see just why Hawkeye is known as one of the greatest shinobi alive today. Now, let's begin. Chapter four, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

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The group of five shinobi and one demonic puppet listened to Tazuna's story in silence. Then Kurenai said," By all rights, we should just leave you to your fate for lying on the mission statement. But if Hawkeye-san is in agreement, we'll let our students decide if we should continue. Hawkeye-san?"

Hawkeye nodded, and said," Right, kiddies, you get to choose. Do we go on, or go back?"

Kiba said," I say we go on. It might be fun to have a challenge."

Naruto said," I also say we go on. If there are ninja up ahead, I can possibly get a good corpse for my puppets."

Hinata said," I thin...think that we...we should...go on."

Shino said," I think we should go on and complete the mission."

The two Jounin nodded, and Hawkeye said," Alright. Naruto, come here."

He moved over to the dead bodies of the two ninja. He pulled off the two forehead protectors, and stashed them somewhere on his person. He then said," Now, one of the best ways to get money, beside completing missions, is to collect bounties. Now, these guys are missing nin, as shown by the slash through the forehead protectors. They most likely have a bounty on them. I recognize them as the Demon Brothers of Kirigakure. They are c-rank missing nin, and are worth a hefty sum. Now, what is the cardinal rule of disposing of bodies?"

Naruto said," Completely destroy the body so that no one can learn the secrets it contains sensei."

Hawkeye nodded, and said," Alright, but if we destroy them, then we have no proof that it was us that killed them. So, watch and learn." He leaned down and produced a long kunai. He said," This is my only kunai of this variety. It isn't designed for throwing, not that regular kunai are either, but this one is never thrown. This is what is called a decapitator kunai." He quickly cut through the necks of the two ninja, and rolled the heads away from the body. He pulled out a scroll, and rolled it out on the ground. He placed the two heads, and removed the gauntlets and chain from the bodies. He placed them with the heads, and pumped in some chakra, sealing the items into the scroll. Then he did some hand seals and yelled," Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu." And incinerate the corpses. Then he turned around and said," Naruto, watch the hand seals carefully. I want you to be able to use this jutsu by the time we finish this mission. It is a useful skill to have."

Naruto nodded, and started walking. The rest of the group followed as Hawkeye continued to show the hand seals for Gōkakyū. Naruto finally said," I got it."

Hawkeye stopped making seals, and the demonic sand raccoon-dog turned to Tazuna and said," If you want, I have some room in the puppet. We'll make better time if you don't have to walk yourself."

Tazuna looked at the Tanuki and said," Sure. Where is this space?"

As if on cue, the top part of the Tanuki popped off on a hinge. It showed a slight depression in the creature. Naruto said," Usually this is reserved for transporting goods or other items, but it's viable as a seat. Come closer to the tail, and it'll lift you up."

Tazuna approached, cautiously. The tail wrapped securely around him, and lifted him into the depression on the back of the large demon puppet. It was deep, so much so that only Tazuna's head was visible above it. The Tanuki seemed to grin as Naruto said," Now, what say we make some speed?" And began moving much faster than before. The other five picked up speed to make better time. They moved swiftly through the forest, and finally reached the docks at the edge of the country. The tail of Shukaku snaked out and pulled Tazuna down, and he went to get a boat. Within a few minutes, they were off.

Half an hour later, the six ninja (Naruto is out of the puppet now) and Tazuna were just coming up on Wave. They had seen the massive bridge, and Tazuna had said that it was the only way the country would be free of Gato. As they landed, the ninja and their client got out, and the boat paddled away.

The group moved swiftly through the forest, but it was slow going from the thick mist. Naruto asked," Is it generally this foggy here?"

Tazuna said," Not usually. I don't get it, it shouldn't be this bad."

Naruto suddenly felt a presence. He said," Hinata-san, could you use those eyes of yours to see anything out of the ordinary?"

Hinata nodded, and activated her bloodline. She said," There is a rabbit in those bushes. It has the remains of chakra around it. Probably a replacement."

The moment she said that, a huge sword came flying through the mist. In an instant, Naruto pulled Tazuna down as Hawkeye said," GET DOWN!"

The rest of them dropped, and the sword flew past them to embed in the tree behind them. They stood back up as a man appeared on the tree. Hawkeye looked at him and said," The infamous Zabuza of the Bloody Mist. It's a true honor."

Zabuza looked at him, and said," The legend himself, Hawkeye the Marksman. Known for never missing with a ranged weapon of any variety unless aiming to miss. Is it true that you never miss? I've always believed that it was so much exaggeration."

Hawkeye said," Oh, it's true alright. I've never missed, unless I want to miss. Now, let's see what you can do, Demon of the Bloody Mist."

He turned to the others and said," No offense to your team, Kurenai-san, but they are outmatched here. Guard Tazuna, and I'll handle him." Kurenai nodded, and Hawkeye pulled his hat off. He handed it to Naruto and said," I don't want this hat damaged. Its special to me. Get it damaged, and our previous training will seem like a walk in the park compared to what I'll do." He turned and they saw his eye, which had been covered by the hat. It was completely white, with a vicious scar running through it. He turned back to Zabuza and said," Now, let's begin."

Zabuza nodded, and formed a hand seal, before saying," Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu."

The mist thickened considerably, and they could barely make out Hawkeye. From the mist came a voice, saying," Heart, liver, kidneys..." He was cut off as Hawkeye said," Enough with the voice. Come and face me." As he said that, he threw a single kunai into the mist.

Kiba said," Who does he think he is? He can't hit anything in this mist." As he finished saying that, a clang was heard. The Genin eyes went wide when they heard it. It was the kunai hitting metal. Next a burst of chakra dispelled the mist. Zabuza stood there with his sword held in front of him. He said," Impossible. You couldn't have seen me in the mist."

Hawkeye chuckled at that, and said," It's rather simple. I'm just that good."

Zabuza began to chuckle, then outright laugh at that. He said," So, it is true. The Marksman Hawkeye, also known as Targeter and Bullseye for his amazing accuracy. In the Kirigakure Bingo Book you are known as an A-class ninja, and one of your shining achievements is throwing a kunai from the top of the Hokage tower in Konoha and shattering a glass held by a man in Suna. Renowned as the foremost expert in throwing weapons, all aspiring weapons masters aspire to be as good as you."

The four Genin were gob smacked at this revelation. He hit a glass in another village. Hawkeye rubbed his head sheepishly and said," Oh, it was never proved that it was me that threw the kunai that hit that glass. But let's continue, shall we?"

Elsewhere, Sasori and Deidara were moving towards Wave. The two of them had been informed that Naruto had been sent on a mission there. They were now aiming to capture him, and brining him into the Akatsuki base.

Deidara said," You think this kid will be any good?"

Sasori smirked inside his puppet, and said," No. He's just trash. He'll fall easily. It's his sensei that is the problem. Hawkeye is known for his skills, and he won't go down easy. Perhaps we should bring his corpse in to collect the bounty on him."

The two began laughing as they continued towards Wave.

Back with the Konoha ninjas, Hawkeye was firing off weapons like nothing else. He used his chakra, coated the blades in it as he threw them, and they caused explosions wherever they landed. He had dispelled several high ranking jutsu with those exploding kunai as he called them. He smirked and threw three more kunai, nailing Zabuza in the shoulder with all three. He flew back into a lake, and stood on the water. Another kunai was in Hawkeye's hand before he got back up completely. He threw, and the kunai was embedded in Zabuza's hand. He howled, and then felt something off. In a flash of yellow, Hawkeye was right next to him, aiming a series of shuriken at him. He dodged, and attempted to sweep Hawkeye's feet out from under him. He managed to get him to stumble, and threw up his sword in an attempt to cleave him in two.

Hawkeye dropped into the water to avoid the debilitating slash, and then realized his mistake. Zabuza appeared next to him as he struggled back up, and made hand seals. He held his hand forward and said," Suiro no Jutsu."

A sphere of water appeared around him, completely trapping him. Zabuza made another seal and a Mizu Bushin appeared. The Bushin stalked towards them, Hawkeye yelled," Take Tazuna and run. His Bushin can't go far, and you need to get out of here. Complete the mission."

The Bushin came onto dry land, and Naruto said," Hawkeye-sensei, if we abandon you, no one will be able to beat him. Like it or not, we need you."

He pulled out a scroll, and wiped some blood on it. In a puff of smoke, it's contents were revealed.

The puppet stood at least ten feet tall, closer to twelve. It had matted brown hair, and was vaguely humanoid. It's skin and eyes were also brown, and clumps of earth seemed to hang off it. It was well-muscled, and wore only a brown loincloth over where privates would be on a normal human. Naruto said," Say hello to my newest creation. I give you puppet number six, Titan."

He connected three strings to the puppet, and it took off, clanking as it moved.

The Mizu Bushin jumped forward and tried to cleave the monstrosity, but it held up it's forearm and blocked the sword, and it embedded in the wood that made up the arm. They all watched as the puppet raised one foot, and stomped down, creating a crater where it was standing. But from the sides of the crater, the displaced earth shot out, piercing the clone, dispelling it and the sword in a flood of water. The puppet climbed back out, and Naruto said," Now, for the real one."

The puppet began stomping, sending up clumps of dirt. It's two fist began punching the dirt with amazing accuracy at Zabuza, who used his sword to block and dodged to evade the deadly projectiles. While they wouldn't kill him outright, it hurt like hell to get hit, as he had already found out. He was sweating as the puppet stormed closer, giving him less time to block. The pace picked up, and finally, three clumps hit him in rapid succession. As the clumps hit, he blinked. In that instant, the puppet moved. When his eyes were opened, the puppet was right in front of him, rearing back with it's colossal fist to punch. He dodged, and then realized the mistake. He had let go of the jutsu.

Hawkeye stood next to the puppet, which was floating slightly. He looked back at his student, who was on land, safe for the moment. Naruto yelled out," Sensei, look at him."

Hawkeye did, and realized what was happening. The clumps that had hit Zabuza and his sword were still there, adhered to the sword and it's wielder. Hawkeye chuckled as the puppet returned to it's wielder's side. Hawkeye said," Well, Zabuza, ready to continue?"

Zabuza prepared another jutsu, and Hawkeye pulled out throwing knives. He laced them with his chakra, and as Zabuza finished his seals, launched them at the water dragon that came up at him. It dispelled in a shower of water. Hawkeye got up right in his face, his decapitator kunai already out and slashing. He dodged back, and Hawkeye continued to slash at him. In the end, he got slashed across the arm. He fell back clutching his arm.

And three senbon needles came out and embedded in his neck. He fell over in a moment, and a hunter nin appeared. The hunter nin said," Thank you for tiring him out. I've been tracking him for a month now."

Hawkeye walked forward and pressed his fingers to his neck. No pulse. He was dead. He went back and nodded to the hunter nin. The hunter picked up the corpse, and disappeared.

The group sighed, the battle was over. Hawkeye said," Let's get to your house, Tazuna-san." He walked about six steps before collapsing in exhaustion.

The group gathered around him as he lay there, and he said," Damn, used too much chakra there."

Naruto pulled out two scrolls, and sealed Titan back up in his, before unsealing Shukaku. He climbed into the Tanuki, and used the puppet's tail to place Hawkeye in the indention Tazuna had been in before. Naruto said," Lead the way, Tazuna-san."

Tazuna walked them to his home, which was only a half hour from where the battle took place. Tazuna knocked on the door when they arrived, and Naruto gently put his sensei on the ground. He stepped out of the puppet when a woman opened the door, and sealed it as Tazuna explained what had happened. Tsunami brought them in quickly, and they put Hawkeye in a bed to rest.

The next morning, Hawkeye was conscious. He had Naruto help him down to the futon in the living room and gathered the other four ninja. He said," I think Zabuza is still alive."

He went on to explain just why he believed that, and by the end of the explanation, they all agreed that Zabuza would probably attack again. So they prepared to learn some things and get ready for the attack.

Elsewhere, Zabuza and Haku were listening to Gato go on about their failure. Finally, Haku broke his wrist and he left. After that, two other figures came out from the back. They were two girls, twins from the looks of them. The one on the left said," So, when do we get to kill those ninja?"

Zabuza said," When I get better, Hikari. When we fight them, you three will handle the four Genin. I'll take the two Jounin. Do not interfere with my fight. Got it?"

The three teens nodded, and he fell asleep, preparing for the coming fight.

The four Genin and their two Jounin senseis gathered in a clearing, and Hawkeye turned to Kurenai and asked," Does your team know the tree walking exercise?"

Kurenai said," No. Does your student?"

Naruto smirked and said," I've known that exercise since I was eight."

Hawkeye said," Then show them how it's done."

Naruto focused some chakra, and calmly walked up a tree without bother. He reached one of the top and walked on the underside of one of the bigger branches up there. Then he disconnected and fell to the ground. He landed with no sound.

Hawkeye threw three kunai at the feet of the three Genin and said," Use chakra to hold yourself to the tree, and walk up. Use a running start if you need to. Use the kunai to mark your progress."

the two boys immediately got started, but Hinata said," Ano, I know this exercise."

Hawkeye nodded and asked," Do you know water walking?"

Hinata nodded," Hai."

Hawkeye reached into a pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He said," Do you know your affinity?"

Hinata said," Um...no."

Hawkeye nodded and said," Here. Take the paper and channel some chakra into it. Depending on what it does, we'll know your affinity."

She quickly channeled some chakra, and her paper got wet, amazingly so. Hawkeye nodded, and said," Water. Makes sense." He turned to Naruto and asked," Do you know any Suiton jutsu?"

Naruto thought about it and said," Yeah, I know a few. Want me to teach her?"

Hawkeye turned to Kurenai and asked," Do you mind?"

Kurenai shook her head, and started to walk off. She said," I'm going to guard Tazuna. Hawkeye-san, watch over my two male students. Naruto, if you will teach her, I'll appreciate it."

Naruto waved as he walked off, and Hinata followed. They reached a lake, and Naruto walked out onto the surface, and said," Hinata, come out here."

Hinata walked out to him, and he said," OK, watch closely. I have three jutsu of the Suiton variety, so we have plenty to learn." He ran through some hand seals, slowly for her to see, and said," Suiton: Uzumaki no Jutsu."

Ten feet away, a whirlpool formed. Hinata looked on in awe as it began to move the entire lake with it's power. She felt herself moving towards it, and struggled against the flow. Naruto said," This is one of my own jutsu. I designed it so that when you're fighting on water, you can disrupt your opponent's strikes, and maybe even pull him under. The more chakra you push into it, the more powerful it is. I put enough to move the entire lake, as you can see. Now." He canceled the jutsu and said," You saw the seals. See what you can do."

And so the days passed, and the group trained. Kiba and Shino mastered the tree climbing exercise, and Kiba learned his elemental affinity, which was earth. He had learned a few jutsu from Hawkeye after he got good enough for it. Hinata had mastered the Uzumaki no Jutsu, and Naruto had taught her his other two jutsu as well. She also learned some low-leveled genjutsu.

Finally, the day Zabuza would probably attack arrived. The group prepared to head to the bridge, and Tsunami asked," What about Naruto?"

Hawkeye said," He'll get up soon. Tell him we went on ahead."

She nodded, and went back inside the building. The others moved off to the bridge. When they arrived, there was a mist, and all the men were knocked out. Hawkeye said," Zabuza."

A voice was heard from the mist, saying," Indeed. I'm glad you came out to play with me, Hawkeye."

In an instant, four Mizu Bushins appeared around the group. They were about to slash at the group when three fists and a kunai shot at them, and they were all destroyed. Zabuza appeared at the end of the bridge with his three underlings. He looked at the group, then said," Where's the brat with the dolls?"

Hawkeye said," He's indisposed. But you need to worry about what you're going to do against us. Ready for round two, Zabuza?"

Zabuza smirked under his bandages, and rushed at him, sword held ready. The three teens also ran forward, prepared to fight their targets.

Back at the house, Naruto got out of bed when he heard a scream. He looked outside, and saw Inari running at two samurai, who were holding Tsunami. Naruto prepared two puppets, his originals. Kira and Jingo flew out of the window. Jingo blocked the two swords with it's massive body, and the smaller Kira launched two poisoned kunai at the two samurai. They blocked the strikes, and in that moment, Naruto pounced. He used a substitution to get Tsunami out of there, and stood before the two samurai. He said," Inari, good work. Take your mother inside and don't come back out for a few minutes."

The two walked back inside shakily. Naruto looked at the two and said," Now, let's see how good you are."

The two samurai moved towards him, slashing with their swords. Naruto dodged back, pulled a flip to add distance, and at the top of his flip, yelled," Akuma Kumi: Kumi Ni!" He pointed at the two samurai, and they felt their world change in an instant. They looked around, but saw no one. Then the storm kicked in, and tossed them around. They screamed, not knowing that it was an illusion. The screams abruptly stopped as they fell into a river, and a clone held them under. As their breath failed, Naruto said," Bring the swords. They might be useful."

The clone got the two swords, and handed them off to Naruto before dispelling. Naruto walked back inside and said," Inari, it's OK to come back out now. But you might want to hide. If they attacked, the bridge is probably a target too, and they might send more thugs when they realize that these two failed." He unsealed Shukaku and climbed in. The eyes glowed as he began to move forward at great speed. He smirked inside the construct. They wouldn't know what hit them.

Back at the bridge, Haku had gotten Kiba in his Demonic Ice Mirrors, and was slowly turning him into a pin cushion. Hinata and Shino were both trying to fight off the two twins, but Hikari and her sister weren't making it easy on them. They fought as a team, and covered each other well. Zabuza was currently doing his level best to behead one of the two Jounin, preferring to fight Hawkeye. He landed a kick to Kurenai's abdomen, and she folded to the ground, holding her stomach. Zabuza blocked a series of kunai, and realized the last one was different. A huge explosion covered the area, and threw him back. He flipped and landed, before Hawkeye was right in his face. His decapitator kunai was being used to great effect, blocking the mighty zanbatou, and doing his best to cut Zabuza in half as well. So far all they had received was some minor wounds.

Inside the dome of ice mirrors, Haku was showering needles down at Kiba, in an attempt to kill him. He was dodging as best he could. Right when he thought he was going to die, two needles flew out and knocked the incoming needles away. Everything stopped for a moment, as a figure moved in through the mist. The figure was a seven foot tall creature, hunched forward, and had one massive tail. As it came into view, they saw the demonic countenance of Shukaku of the Sand. A metallic voice came out from the Tanuki, saying," You are going down, little ningen."

The tail whipped, and several senbon needles flew out at Haku, who dodged into a mirror. His features appeared on all of the mirrors, and Shukaku asked," That's a very useful power you have there. How do you do it?"

Haku said," I have a bloodline that allows me to use Hyoton."

Shukaku seemed to nod, and said," You will be puppet number seven, my first human puppet." The group realized just what this thing was. But that didn't matter, as the tail split in two at the end, about a foot of it falling to the sides, revealing a barrel of some variety. With an almighty bang, an iron ball flew out of it and smashed into a mirror. It actually destroyed the mirror. Haku looked awed by it, and Shukaku spoke again," Kiba-san, please get out of there. I'm going to destroy them all."

Kiba ran for it, and went to help his team mates against the twins. Hinata fell back to guard Tazuna. Shukaku continued launching the iron balls at the mirrors, destroying them easily. Finally there was only one mirror left. The tail flipped shut, and Shukaku said," Feel grateful. That's the last cannon balls I have."

The group looked at him, and Haku considered his options. He didn't have a lot of them. He didn't have the chakra needed to reform the mirrors, but he couldn't leave the safety of the mirror without most likely dying. He couldn't maintain the mirror for long, and he knew it. With a sigh, he got out and prepared his senbon needles for a final attack. Shukaku smirked at him, then a part popped open. Naruto stepped out, and sealed Shukaku into his scroll. He said," You are out of your invincible item, so it's only fair that I do the same. One final charge, no puppets or tricks. Let's see who is better, Haku."

Haku seemed surprised, and Naruto elaborated," I can smell your scent. It's the same as when you were searching for herbs. I don't particularly want to kill you. But you aren't going to leave peacefully, and the mission comes first. I'll be nice to your corpse, and you will live on as lucky puppet number seven." He removed senbon from his holster, and prepared for the final attack.

The two ran at each other, and with a deft flick, both threw their needles. The needles sailed passed each other, and embedded in the other ninja. They stopped, Haku panting from it. He looked at Naruto, who was pulling the needles out of his forearm where he had allowed them to hit. Then Haku pulled out the needles as well, and felt something off about them. Naruto said," Every last weapon I use is coated in a poison of some variety. That one is a debilitating poison that will lock down your muscles within a few minutes of hitting. I'm sorry Haku, but you lose."

Haku felt his muscles tensing, and fell over. Naruto looked up to see Hawkeye had captured Zabuza with a powerful jutsu. His head fell to the ground. Naruto went over to Haku and plunged another needle into the base of his neck. The boy stiffened even further, if it was possible, and within seconds was dead. Naruto pulled out a plain scroll, and sealed Haku's body in it. He looked at the twins, both were down for the count. They had won.

Clapping was heard, and they turned to look at the end of the bridge, where a short man with extremely spiky hair was. He was clapping, and was at the head of nearly a hundred bandits. He looked at the two twins, and said," Well, this is pathetic. You are as weak as I thought. Good thing I never planned on paying any of you ninjas."

Hikari looked at him, and said," What the hell you mean, shorty?"

Gato held out a hand, and one of the bandits handed him his short sword. Gato said," I mean this." He plunged the sword into the back of Hikari's sister. She screamed out," KAIRI!"

Kairi died within moments as her stomach was pierced and her blood flowed out. Gato pulled the sword free and handed it to the bandit. He turned and started walking away, saying," Kill them all."

Naruto looked at him, and said," You monster. You disrespect powerful warriors. For that, I will never forgive you." He seemed to glow with power, his chakra becoming visible. The others looked at him, and he bit his thumb. He rubbed the blood onto all his fingers, and flashed through hand seals. Kurenai was scared that the fox had taken over, but Hawkeye was smirking. He said," So, he's got access to it."

The ninja and Tazuna all looked at him, and he said," Naruto has a rather special Kekkei Genkai. He has access to demonic illusions of unparalleled power. They are called the Akuma Kumi, the Demon Circles. They are Genjutsu on par with the best and most famous of illusions, including the illusion offered to Sharingan users when they gain mastery over their eye. They are illusions that makes its targets seem like they are trapped within the corresponding circle of Hell. But that is not the only power his bloodline gives him. This is the other power."

He stopped talking as Naruto finished his seals and yelled out clearly," Final Summoning of Akuma Kumi: Lucifer!" He pressed both hands to the ground and an unholy black fire erupted from in front of him. As the fire died down, they saw just what he had summoned. Hawkeye said," Just like his mother."

The creature was massive, easily eight feet tall. It had three heads, each looking evil in the simplest of terms. IT had six wings on its back, and was clothed with only a short loincloth, showing off its powerful muscles. The right head turned to Naruto, and asked," Why have you summoned me, little one."

Naruto pointed to the bandits and Gato, who was now cowering. He said," Send them to the pits, Lucifer. They anger me."

Lucifer nodded, his six wings spreading to their full length. He flew forward, and as he stopped in front of the bandits, wings blew forth and cut over a third of them into ribbons. It was a massacre. The three heads of the demon was firing off flames, water, and lightning at the bandits, killing many. Then it reached Gato, who saw the demon coming and tried to move, but couldn't. The demon looked at the short man, and looked at the decimated bandits behind him. Not a single one was left. Lucifer said," You, little man, have been judged. Your sins are heavy, and you will go into hell with me for all of time." He grabbed him and lifted him up to face the middle face, and with a monstrous bite, ate the top half of Gato. Then it ate the other half, and looked at Naruto. He said," Thank you Lucifer. Return to your home and rest."

Lucifer nodded, and disappeared in another flash of black fire. Naruto fell to the ground as that happened.

The group gathered around him, and Kiba asked the question," Are you OK?"

Naruto heaved as he tried to draw in breath. He said," I have never done that before. It drains a lot of chakra, like four-fifths of my reserves. It's a draining thing that cannot be used often." And with that, he collapsed into unconsciousness.

Two days later, the bridge was finished, and the group stood there saying their goodbyes. Inari looked at Naruto and said," You'll come visit, right Nii-san?"

Naruto looked at the little boy he considered a little brother, and said," Of course I will. Its a promise, and I always keep those."

The group of Shinobi moved off, and behind them, they left a freed country, and happy people. As they left, one of the villagers asked," What are you going to name your bridge, Tazuna?"

Tazuna said," I think, the Super Awesome Tazuna Bridge of Greatness."

Tsunami smacked him upside the head and said," No, you old drunk. It should be called the Great Naruto Bridge."

Tazuna rubbed his head where she had hit him. He mumbled something, and her eyes glittered dangerously," What was that?"

Tazuna said," I said its a great name. The name will be the Great Naruto Bridge."

As they left, Tazuna sighed, and said," Thank Kami she didn't hear what I really said."

The group were walking towards Konoha, and everyone was thinking. But their thoughts were stopped when they heard a voice," Stop right there, yeah."

They looked up to see two figures standing there blocking their path. One was a hunchback with a scorpion's tail, the other was a man with blonde hair in a ponytail with half his face covered with his hair as well. They both wore black cloaks with red clouds on them and wide hats made of straw. Kiba said," Who the hell are you?"

Before either could say anything, Naruto said," Akasuna no Sasori, and Deidara. The second greatest puppet master to ever come out of Suna, and a missing nin of Iwa, both S-class."

The two missing nin looked at him, and Sasori asked," How do you know that, Gaki?"

Naruto unrolled his scroll and said," I know who you are for two reasons. One is the fact that I have heard of you, and know what your descriptions are. The other reason is because like you two, I am an artist, and I know the greats by heart." He applied chakra to the scroll, and in a puff of smoke, his puppet became visible. It was an average height for a man, standing at five eleven. But it didn't look anything like a man. It had bony fingers, five of which was wrapped around a blood-red scythe. It wore a black cloak, and it's hood was raised. It had red eyes, and as they watched, it hunched forward and raised the scythe. Naruto said," This is my third puppet. Meet Reaper." He twitched his fingers, and the puppet rushed at Sasori, who blocked the scythe with his tail. He attempted to stab that tail into Reaper, but it flew back as a small explosive was thrown at it from Deidara. The explosion was fairly large, and blocked the view of the two missing nin for a minute. As the smoke dissipated, they saw the two ninja were moving again. Deidara had made a clay bird, and was currently riding it above them. Sasori had moved forward, and was launching smoke bombs from his mouth, and poisoned needles as well. The two ninja were quickly overpowering the group of Konoha ninja. Reaper was attempting to cut through Sasori, but the body seemed to be hardened and nearly unbreakable. Finally, as the two powerful fighters closed in on them, Naruto said," Alright, I'm going to try something. When I do, run for Konoha."

He sealed Reaper away, and stood before the two missing nin. He pointed at the two of them, and said," Akuma Kumi: Kumi San." Two beams of light came out and hit the missing nin, and they suddenly stopped. Naruto said," Let's go. They won't stay like that for long."

To the eyes of Sasori and Deidara, they were now held in place by extreme, heavy rain, and it was pinning them in place. Sasori said," Deidara, focus as much chakra as possible. We're in a Genjutsu, and it's a good one."

Deidara nodded, and focused. He pushed out nearly all of his chakra, hoping to disrupt the flow of the genjutsu. Finally, they snapped it out, and they were in the real world again. The six shinobi were nowhere to be seen. Deidara looked around, and said," They've gone, Sasori-sempai. They'll be halfway to Konoha by now, yeah."

He then noticed something, the spots where the rain had appeared to hit in the genjutsu was red and throbbing. He said," What the hell is this, yeah?"

Sasori looked, and said," This is the true power of the Akuma Kumi. It's such a real illusion that the brain actually conceives it as the real world. You can keep telling yourself that it is just an illusion, but it can't convince your basic instincts. Your brain perceives it to be real, and so it makes it real. If we had stayed in it, that rain would have eventually battered us to death."

Deidara's single visible eye widened, and he said," That is the power of Akuma Kumi? Maybe we should try to get that power on our side."

Sasori began shuffling away towards Konoha, and said," Maybe Konan will volunteer to bear a child by the Nine-tails container. It would be powerful to have, and coupled with her own powers, the child would be near unstoppable."

-0-0-

This chapter is now DONE! I had a real fun time with this. I hope you all like it as much as I have. Now, before you start complaining about how I made Akuma Kumi to be unbreakable, let me explain. Akuma Kumi is on par with Tsukyomi(is that how you spell it?). It can be broken, it's just damn near impossible to do so. I know that the fight scenes were lacking, but I"m not too good with the early stuff, and I really didn't know how to plot out the fight between the Konoha ninja and Sasori and Deidara. So sorry about that.

Now, in the next chapter, some things go down. One is a second team mate for Naruto. I am doing this for two reasons. It's Hikari, the girl that survived the bridge battle. I'm doing this because I want to develop her character some more, and Naruto will need a full team for the Chunin exams. Now, don't let the appearance of a female ninja OC confuse you, she will have NO romantic attachment to Naruto beyond the fact that he avenged her sister's death. She is not my mystery woman. I was serious when I said that she has appeared in canon, but she's so unknown that she isn't put on the list of people. I'm sorry for going off topic like that, but I felt it needed to be explained.

Now, two other things happen in the next chapter. Naruto will learn the truth about his father. I feel that he is ready for that info, don't you? And last but not least, Naruto gains another corpse for his human puppet collection. I thought long and hard about who his best human puppet could be, and I finally figured it out. I have seen him with various Hokage, but he is loyal to Konoha, and won't desecrate their graves to gain those bodies in this. I've seen him with a Mizukage, but that just doesn't appeal to me. I don't know enough about the Tsuchikage and Raikage, so they are out too. And Sasori has the best Kazekage, so that isn't going to happen. So I thought, who could be his best? I now have an answer, but I'm not going to tell you who it is. I want that to be a surprise. If you can guess who I have in mind, you are good. Now, I'm off. Peace.


	5. Ame

Disclaimer: Do I need to say it? I don't own Naruto.

Here is chapter five I thought for a long time how to write this chapter, and I have finally done it. Now, as stated before, there are three things happening. Naruto gains a new team mate, learns about his father, and goes on another mission where he gets the body that will become his best puppet. Now, on that last count, he won't build the puppet just yet, he's going to study making them, and try several common ones, before making the puppet from any valuable corpses, like Haku or this best puppet. Now, enough rambling, let's begin. Chapter five, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

-0-0-

The group of shinobi were outside the gates of Konoha, and happy to be home. After a few minutes of talking to the chunin at the gate, the group went towards the Hokage tower, and within a few moments, were at the desk of the Hokage. Sarutobi listened as they recounted their ordeal, and he said," So, Tazuna-san lied to us in his mission request. Why didn't you turn back when you found out about it?"

Hawkeye said," We decided to complete the mission rather than take the easy way out. I know that we should have sent a message to request back up, but we figured with two Jounin that it wouldn't be too bad."

Sarutobi nodded, and said," So, Naruto-kun, tell me about the summon you used at the bridge."

Naruto sighed and said," The Final Summoning of Akuma Kumi. You know how my bloodline gives me illusions that represent the circles of hell, correct? Well, according to legend, in the ninth circle, which is a frozen lake, there is a demon. This demon has six wings and three heads. It is Lucifer. The summoning calls Lucifer up from his realm to help me. He has incredible power, and is nearly invincible in combat, but he takes an extraordinary amount of chakra to summon. It takes me nearly eighty percent of my reserves, and mine are larger than most. Normal people probably couldn't even summon him."

Sarutobi asked," Was there a summoning contract in the scroll I gave you? Is that how you can summon him?"

Naruto shook his head, and said," No. Lucifer has no contract, and will only answer the call of an Uzumaki who has used at least two of the Akuma Kumi illusions."

Sarutobi nodded, and said," Alright, dismissed. Hawkeye, Naruto, stay a moment."

Team eight quietly left. As the door shut behind them, Sarutobi said," ANBU, leave us."

The two ANBU detached themselves from the wall and disappeared in twin puffs of smoke. Sarutobi went through some hand seals and the room glowed with various kanji as it became soundproof. Sarutobi got up and walked over to the picture of the fourth. He pulled it off and put in the correct sequence for the safe. As the safe swung forward, Sarutobi leaned in and grabbed a scroll. He sealed the safe and replaced the picture. He went back to his seat and sat down, motioning for the two ninja to do the same. They sat back and looked at him. Sarutobi said," I'm sure you're wondering what this is about. Naruto, I gave it some thought and decided that its time to know the truth of your heritage. You are much stronger than most would give you credit for, and I feel that you are ready for this. This." He held up the scroll and placed it on his desk in front of Naruto before continuing," is the last letter your father ever wrote. Its to you, and was to be given to you when you proved that you could protect and handle the information within it. I feel that you have reached that point."

Naruto gaped at him, then with shaking hands took the scroll. He unrolled it, and saw the emblem on it. A wave with wind shooting through it. He looked at the letter, and read:

Dear Naruto,

Even as I sit here writing this letter, you are sleeping just a few feet from me. Kami this is hard. I've never been one for long speeches, so I'll keep this simple. My name is Namikaze Minato, but you would probably know me as something else, the Yondaime Hokage. If everything is going according to the loose plan me and my closest friends and advisors came up with, then you should be preteen or teenager, and ready for this information. I am sorry that my identity was hidden from you, and your mother's as well, but it had to be done. Iwa and Kumo hate me with a fiery passion, and would seek to do you harm if you were revealed as my son. So please don't go screaming it from rooftops that you are my kid. Only a few people know the truth, but enough that someone should tell you before they all die. Old man Sarutobi, my team mate and best friend Hawkeye, my teacher Jiraiya, who is also your godfather, by the way, and Jiraiya's female team mate, Tsunade. When you see Jiraiya, tell him Minato says he's a mega pervert. It'll be funny kiddo.

Now, any one of these four knows the location of the Namikaze estate, and can show you. You will have to use your blood to unseal it, and all that, I'm not a seal master for nothing. When you go to it, find the library. It has a lot of things in there about a lot of different subjects. I wasn't ever one for reading, but the knowledge in that room is on par with the Hokage library(believe me, I know, I've checked), and will help you become a greater shinobi than you already are. When you get to it, look up Hiraishin. You won't find the instructions on it in the library, but there is a hint on where you can find it. You will have to think like me to figure out the secret hiding place. Think of it as a test of your skills.

I need to wrap this up now, the Kyuubi is waiting for me. Just remember, me and your mother both loved you more than life itself, and though we are not there in body, we are there in spirit. I hope you can look back at some time and be happy with how your life has gone. I wish that the village sees you as a hero, but I know human nature, and know that it is unlikely. If so, know that I'm sorry for placing this burden on you, but I can't ask any others.

Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage, ramen freak, and proud father.

Naruto looked at the letter and felt his tears threatening to spill. He knew who his father was.

Sarutobi asked gently," Naruto, are you OK with this?"

Naruto looked up and said," Yeah. I might not like the way I was treated, but I know why dad did what he did."

Hawkeye said," And you're not mad that we didn't tell you sooner?"

Naruto said," Nope. I know that you had to stay quiet. It wouldn't do for Iwa or Kumo to kill me before I even knew why they wanted me dead."

Sarutobi let out a breath and said," Right. Anyway, if you unroll the scroll further, it's a sealing scroll. In the seal is another scroll, one that requires blood to open. In that you will find more seals, with everything that is left of the Namikaze beyond their clan house. Now, I cannot officially let you claim the Namikaze name, but I can and will let you open the Namikaze estate if you want."

Naruto said," Yes, yes, yes. Where is the estate, when can I see it? Is it big? Are there any other Namikaze?"

Sarutobi laughed, and said," Its in the clan district. Its closest neighbors is the Aburame and Sarutobi clans. We can see it right now if you want. It is one of the bigger clan houses, so its quite large. And to the best of my knowledge, there are no more Namikaze or Uzumaki, just you."

Naruto nodded. The three of them got up, Sarutobi making a Kage Bushin to handle the paperwork, and left. Within a few minutes, they were out on the streets, and moving to the Namikaze estate. Within half an hour, they had reached it. Naruto looked at the estate, it was big. Far bigger than his apartment at any rate. The Hokage said," This is the blood seal. You need to smear your blood onto it to open the gate."

Naruto cut open his palm with a kunai and smeared his blood on the gate, which swung open with a slight creak. He walked in and looked around the grounds. He said," I'm not staying here. If I suddenly start living in the Namikaze clan house, it will draw attention to me, something I can't afford."

Sarutobi nodded, understanding what he was saying. He said," Do what you want Naruto. Only you can open the gates, they have a special seal designed by your father that will reactivate whenever the gates close. Take all the time you need, myself and Hawkeye will be leaving now."

the two men turned away and stepped back through the gates, closing them behind them. Naruto smirks as he made his way towards the clan house in the distance.

He remained in the clan house for two days, growing closer to his father, finding things about him that was not widely known. His father, despite creating the Oiroke no Jutsu to find and disable or manipulate perverts, was in fact one as well. Not a big one, but Naruto had found a small stash of Icha Icha Paradise, all signed by the author. Naruto smirked as he remembered going through his father's study, which was a disaster. It was so badly organized, he could barely find anything. He did find that his father was a prankster just like him, and he loved to mess with people. One of the greatest things Naruto found was his father's personal diary. When he had found it, he had laughed, because the first page had big words written on it stating quite clearly that it was NOT to be considered a diary, but a journal. Despite that, he called it a diary. He had read through the first twenty or so pages, and had found out some things about his mother too. She was indeed from Whirlpool, and was known as being exceedingly dangerous. She had gained a name right alongside her future husband in the Third Great Shinobi War. She and he were both madly in love, and when they had discovered that she was pregnant, they had been so happy. He knew that they would have loved him so much had they both survived. He also had attempted to find the secret hiding place of the instructions for Hiraishin, but it was no good. He couldn't find it.

He stepped back out of the clan house and left the estate. He had spent too much time here, and had received a message from Sarutobi telling him to meet at the tower for his next mission. He walked towards the tower, foregoing using Shukaku today. His mind was elsewhere, planning his next puppet.

He had spent some time reading the scroll on Hitokugutsu and felt that he was capable of making them properly. He didn't dare use Haku for his first attempt though. He would save him until he was certain that he was able to make them correctly.

He made it to the tower, and walked in. Up the stairs, and there was his sensei, Hawkeye. He nodded to Naruto, and walked through to the office.

Sarutobi said," Naruto, good. I have a special mission for the two of you."

that got both their attention. Naruto stood a little straighter and said," What's that, Hokage-jiji?"

Sarutobi said," I have a contact in the land of Rain. He has gone silent lately, and I want you two to go find him and figure out what happened. Ame is in a civil war, though its not common knowledge. I want to know what's happening there. This is a B-rank mission, the absolute highest mission a Genin can perform. You will probably find ninja between here and there."

Hawkeye nodded, and said," We will finish this mission and find your contact. Is there any other objectives?"

Sarutobi shook his head, and handed Hawkeye a scroll. He said," My contact is not quite a contact in the traditional sense. He is an unofficial ally and friend. He keeps me up to date on the happenings of his country and I help where needed. Now go, I want you back by the time the Chunin Exams start in a month."

The two ninja nodded and left the office. As they walked towards the ground floor, Hawkeye pulled the scroll open and read quickly. He rolled it back up and placed it in his pocket. He said," I'll explain who we're going to find when we get out of the village. Meet at the west gate in an hour."

Naruto nodded, and Hawkeye said," Bring all your puppets. We'll probably need them."

Naruto nodded again, and left. He gathered his supplies quickly, sealing each of his puppets into scrolls. He reached the west gate with fifteen minutes to spare. As he walked forward to where Hawkeye was standing, he made four shadow clones and they ran off. Hawkeye raised an eyebrow at that, and said," What was that for?"

Naruto said," They are going to prepare the beginnings of my newest puppet. Puppet number eight if all goes as planned. Can we leave?"

Hawkeye nodded, and the two of them left through the gate. They would be moving swiftly for close to a week to get to Rain.

After the first day of travel, they made camp in a clearing in the middle of a forest. Naruto asked," So, what's the mission?"

Hawkeye said," Our mission is to find out why the leader of the country, a man named Hanzo, has suddenly stopped contacting Sarutobi. Hanzo was the one who gave the Sannin their title. He decimated an entire army of Konoha ninja, but spared the last three standing. They were Orochimaru, Tsunade, and my own teacher Jiraiya. He said that they were powerful, and so he would spare them as they were great ninja. He's ruled Ame for years, and he's supposed to be one of if not the most powerful shinobi alive. His power rivals that of any Kage."

Naruto nodded, and Hawkeye continued," He and Sandaime Hokage are friends, and keep in contact. But a month or so ago, he suddenly stopped contacting. We need to find out why. It shouldn't be too dangerous, but if it gets messy, it'll get messy really, really quick."

Naruto nodded, and rolled over to get some sleep. They would be traveling fast tomorrow, again.

The next morning, they broke up camp and made their way towards Ame again. After about six hours of travel, Hawkeye said," Someone has been following us since we left Konoha."

Naruto nodded, and said," Should we engage?"

Hawkeye said," How good are you with chakra strings? Can you drop one here and continue on without moving the string. If you can, we can trap our pursuer."

Naruto nodded, and dropped a bunch of strings. He made them almost invisible, and continued on. He said," The target should be coming up on them just...about...NOW." He snapped the strings up, ensnaring his target. The two Konoha ninja turned around to see who they had captured. It was the girl that had fought them on the bridge, Hikari.

The girl was trying to get free of the strings binding her. Naruto moved forward and asked," Might I know why you were following us? Trying to finish what was started on the bridge?"

Hikari said," I'm not here to fight. We fought on the bridge because I was hired by Gato to kill the bridge builder. It wasn't anything personal, just business. Could you let me go? I'm not here to fight."

Hawkeye said," How about you explain. You tell us that you aren't here to fight, and the bridge was business. Convince us."

Hikari sighed, and said," I and my sister were born in Kiri. We were orphaned at birth, and raised to be the perfect little weapons. We had no emotion, we had no wants, no ideas of our own. We were merely an extension of the Mizukage's will. But he placed us under the direction of one of his best warriors, one of the Swordsmen of the Mist. Momochi Zabuza. He convinced us that we were more than just extensions of the Mizukage, and we helped him try to overthrow the Mizukage. We failed, and ran for our lives. We found Haku, and the four of us became missing nin. The rest, you should know. My only reason to keep on living was my sister, and Gato killed her. You killed Gato, giving me vengeance. For that I am thankful, and offer my services to you."

Naruto looked at her, and said," You would become a shinobi of the leaf?"

Hikari said," I would gladly. I just want to repay you for killing Gato, and giving my sister's soul peace."

Hawkeye and Naruto made eye contact, and nodded. Naruto dropped the strings, and Hawkeye said," We are on a mission to get to Ame. You can follow us. If you mess up, they'll never find the body. If you can help us, and prove that you won't be a liability, then we will let you return to Konoha. Any problems with this?"

Hikari shook her head, and Naruto said," I want you to know something. I plan on making Haku into a puppet. If you have a problem with this, you shouldn't be here."

Hikari said," Haku always wanted to protect those that were precious to him. He won't be able to do that buried in the ground. I have no problem with it."

Naruto nodded, and they were off again.

Six days later, they arrived at Ame's capitol. Hawkeye said," We need to find out what happened to Hanzo, and make contact. If he's dead, we need to bring his body back. If he died, then they will desecrate his corpse, something we cannot allow."

The two teenagers nodded, and Hawkeye said," Spread out, and let's find him."

The three of them looked for three days before they got a lead. That lead led them to a crematorium.

The three of them looked at the building, a simple gray construct that looked more like a bunker than anything. Hawkeye said," Alright, Naruto, we need an entrance. Preferably one that doesn't involve completely destroying the place. Can you do that?"

Naruto smirked and unsealed Titan. He connected the strings and sent the puppet towards the wall they were facing, the back wall coincidentally. His fist punched the stone, and a large hole was formed. Naruto said," Entrance made."

They turned back to see four ninja pop out of the hole. Titan smashed it's fist into the ground, creating a crater. Then it started punching the ninja, but more came out. Hawkeye sent kunai after kunai into the ranks of the ninja, killing them mercilessly. Hikari jumped forward, spinning in mid air to strike the head of one ninja. Naruto unsealed Suzumebachi and sent it to help Titan. Naruto blocked several kunai and senbon that almost hit him. He growled as he saw Suzumebachi get hit with two needles. How dare they damage his puppet. He twitched his fingers, and Suzumebachi launched a wave of senbon from its wings. It decimated the enemy ninja. Titan hit the ground with both its fist, creating a wave of earth that buried the remaining ninja and the corpses. Naruto went down to the others and sealed Titan. He wouldn't be useful inside the building.

They climbed in through the hole, and looked around. Hawkeye said," According to our tip, Hanzo is scheduled to be cremated soon. We need to find his body and get out of Ame with it."

They walked around, and after nearly fifteen minutes, they found Hanzo. He was just about to burn, and two ninja were guarding the three men. Naruto unsealed Reaper and sealed Suzumebachi. He looked at Hawkeye and asked the unspoken question. Hawkeye nodded, and Reaper rushed forward and cut one of the ninja in two. Three senbon needles flew out and killed the men operating the machine, and the last ninja died with a snapped neck, courtesy of Hikari. Naruto grabbed Hanzo and heaved him off the machine, and a scroll fell out of his pocket as he stumbled. Naruto picked up the scroll and, curiosity getting the better of him, opened it to read. His eyes grew wide, and he began drooling again. Hawkeye saw this and asked," What is it?"

Naruto said," This message, its to me. Not the Hokage, but to me personally. Here, read it."

Hawkeye took the scroll, and began to read.

Uzumaki Naruto,

I am Hanzo, the leader of Ame. As I write this, I know my time is nearly up. The leader of the rebel faction of my people, Pein, is going to kill me. I know this, and I accept it. It is fate, and we are all caught by it eventually, to die. But that is not why I am writing this to you. My friend Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, has told me of you, and your skills. He tells me that you recently got the information needed to make human puppets. And so I offer you a gift. My body. If it is recovered and sent to Konoha, as I'm sure it will be, I want you to make me a puppet. I am powerful, and I can say that with pride because I know it's true. You won't be able to access my most powerful technique because it requires more than chakra and hand seals, but most of my skills are available to you. I only ask one thing in return. When you make me a puppet, find and use me to kill Pein. I want to at least have revenge on him for what he has done. Now, my time is up, and I hope this message finds you, and you use my body for good.

Hanzo, leader of Ame.

Hawkeye looked at Naruto, his one visible eye widening. He said," You get to make a puppet out of one of the most feared leaders in the Shinobi world, Naruto."

Naruto was already unrolling two scrolls. He sealed Hanzo into one of them, and the dead bodies of the five people into the other. He said," I have plans for these bodies. They will help me complete my work in human puppets."

Hawkeye nodded, and the three of them left.

Elsewhere, Sakura and Sai were training. Sakura had gone forward in leaps and bounds, and was mastering puppetry at an accelerated rate. She could now control a puppet with only one string, allowing her to wield ten at a time. Sai had figured out the secret to the palms now on his hands, and was quickly becoming proficient in clay bombs.

Deidara and Sasori were watching with Danzo, who had a smirk on his face. These two were going to crush Naruto come the Chunin exams. He had already set it up so that they would compete with the last Uchiha as their third team mate. He smirked as he thought about what was going to happen in three weeks.

Sasori said," Sakura, come here."

Sakura walked over to him and said," What is it, Sasori-sensei?"

Sasori held up a scroll and said," Its time to teach you the final art of puppetry, the art of human puppets. I have several bodies I have prepared for you to learn with. Come."

She followed, but asked," What is the scroll, Sasori-sensei?"

Sasori smirked and said," This scroll is the reward for when you master the technique of human puppets. Inside this scroll is a ninja of great power, and was recently killed by me. Inside this scroll is the Sandaime Raikage."

All activity stopped. Sakura looked at her teacher and said," The Sandaime Raikage?"

Sasori nodded, and said," Hai. I killed him with a poison in his tea. He was dangerous to leave alive. Once you have mastered making human puppets to my satisfaction, I will give you the Raikage to make into a puppet. He is powerful, and will be a good puppet for you."

Sakura nodded, and they went over to the workshop area, preparing to make human puppets.

Naruto, Hawkeye, and Hikari were moving as fast as humanly possible, aiming to get out of Ame with all haste. They were maybe a day from the border, and they had been going fast with little stops. But that was stopped when Naruto felt something. He said," Someone's in that direction in pain."

Hawkeye stopped, and said," What do you mean?"

Naruto sighed, and said," I can feel someone. He's not normal, and he is in a lot of pain."

Hawkeye sighed, and knew that now that Naruto had mentioned it, they had to investigate. He said," Fine. Let's check it out."

They moved off towards the person, and after a few minutes, they could hear the sound of crying. They mounted a hill, and saw a sight they weren't expecting. Sixteen Ame ninja, at least six of Jounin rank, were lying there dead. In the center of the carnage was a single person. He had orange hair, and seemed to be tall, giant sized really. He was sitting with his head in his hands, crying hysterically. Naruto felt an instinctive need to see this guy. He walked around and patted him on the shoulder, saying," What's wrong?"

The man looked up at him, and Naruto realized he had to be just a teenager as well, maybe fifteen. He said," I killed them all, didn't I?"

Naruto looked around, and said," Probably. Were you not wanting to kill them?"

The teen said," I didn't want it to happen, I was just trying to get away, and they found me. I killed them all, just like before. Go away before I kill you too."

Naruto looked shocked, and said," You're not going to kill me. I'm not to the point I want to be yet, so I can't die. Why do you say that you will kill me?"

The teen looked down, and said," I won't. HE will."

Naruto looked confused, and the teen elaborated," I hear his voice, telling me to kill. I don't want to, but he's too strong, and overpowers me. Even now he's telling me to kill you."

Naruto understood at last, a split personality. He looked at the boy and said," What's your name?"

The teen looked up again, and said," Juugo. You're not going to run?"

Naruto held out his hand, and helped Juugo up. He said," Nope. I'm going to be your friend. Way I see it, you need someone there to help you be strong. I'll be that someone."

He made a few clones, handed them some scrolls, and led Juugo away from the carnage. He moved him over to the other two members of his team, and said," This is my sensei Hawkeye and a friend, Hikari. Hawkeye-sensei, Hikari-san, this is Juugo."

The two nodded, and a clone came over and handed him a scroll. Naruto dispelled the clone, and Juugo looked at the scroll, wondering. Naruto said," I'm a puppeteer, and have recently figured out the secret to human puppets. I will use these bodies that you killed to test it before using the technique on any bodies of value. That way I don't waste those that are good, and the people you killed have a final purpose even after death."

Juugo nodded, the logic sound to him. The other two looked at him, and he said," Juugo killed sixteen Ame ninja. They were probably sent to capture or kill us, and just happened to find him. He's a gentle person, but he has a split personality, and the other is vicious. He thrills in killing. So he killed the ninja in a fit of rage. I think that if he has someone to help him, he won't regress to that personality so much. So I want to take him to Konoha. I promised him I would be a friend. And I intend to keep that promise."

Hawkeye looked concerned, and said," I doubt that the Hokage will have a problem with it, but just in case, let me send off a summon."

He bit his thumb, did some hand seals, and yelled out," Kuchinose no Jutsu."

Smoke appeared, blocking him from view. As the smoke dissipated, they saw he was now in front of a large bird, with golden color feathers. The bird looked at Hawkeye and said," What did you summon me for, Hawkeye?"

Hawkeye said," I have need of your wings, Aspir. Can you take a message to the Sandaime Hokage in Konoha for me?"

The bird gazed at him, then nodded. Hawkeye continued," Tell him that myself and Naruto, he'll know who that is, has found two teens, neither with...hold on." He turned to Juugo and said," Do you have any affiliation with another village, no matter how small it is?"

Juugo said," I was a prisoner of Oto. I was experimented on by their leader, a man named Orochimaru."

That threw the two Konoha ninja for a loop. Hawkeye recovered and said," Aspir, tell him that the two teens are an unofficial missing nin of Kiri, but she has no legal affiliation to any village. The other was a prisoner of Orochimaru. Tell him that I am bringing them in for a meeting, and would like them to be allowed in and to be let out if they aren't suited for life in Konoha. I have an idea that he may like. That's all. We're about a day away from the border between Hi no Kuni and Ame no Kuni. Tell him my message, and be swift my friend."

The bird nodded it's head, and flew off. He turned to the three teens and said," Hikari, you will follow Naruto until you repay the debt you owe him, right?"

Hikari said," I will, but I will never be able to pay that debt off."

Hawkeye nodded, and turned to Juugo, asking," You want to be free from those that tried to experiment on you, correct?"

Juugo nodded solemnly, and Hawkeye smiled. He said," Well then, I have no official right to ask this, it will have to wait until we reach Konoha and can talk to the Hokage in person, but do you two want to be Konoha ninja?"

-0-0-

this was a pain to write. I had written three pages of it last night, and was working on it today, and had gotten a bunch more pages done, like made it to nine pages total, but a fking tree fell onto the power lines, cutting all the power to my house and both my neighbors houses. I was so pissed. I was lucky that I could recover most of what I had written. Sorry to unload on you guys, but it just was so weird to have a tree fall on our house on Mother's day of all days.

OK, rant about my life ended. I hope you like this chapter. I found it to be rather good. Not the greatest I've ever written, but pretty good. In the next chapter, it's probably just going to be filler, and the scene at the beginning of the Chunin exams with Kabuto. I love reading that scene and how authors change it to suit their style. I'm looking forward to that.

Oh, and bet you didn't think his big puppet was going to be Hanzo, right? Don't lie to me, I know you didn't think of it. Just kidding ladies and gentlemen. I don't know too much about him, but from what I have seen, he is a great character, even if he gave the title of Sannin to a prick like Orochimaru. And Sakura gets the Raikage. That should be a lot of fun.

I just realized, I said that I wouldn't do the Raikage. Oh well, just go with it. Peace.


	6. Chunin Exams Begin

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Don't sue me.

Alright, here is chapter six. In this, Naruto and Hawkeye have their talk with the Hokage, and the Chunin exams begin. Let's get it on. Chapter six, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

-0-0-

The small group made their way to Konoha. They had been moving for a few days, and was just a few hours away from the gates. Hawkeye said," We're doing good time, but let's move faster. Come on."

They sped up, and within two hours, the gates were visible. Naruto sighed, and said," Home at last. You know we finished this mission in a little over two weeks right? That means we have until the Chunin exams to rest."

Hawkeye nodded, and they finally reached the gates. The Chunin saw them, and said," State your names, and reason for being in Konoha."

Hawkeye said," Jounin Sensei Hawkeye with his apprentice Uzumaki Naruto, and two guests to see the Hokage."

The ninja checked the list for Hawkeye, and saw a note that told him to let his two guests come into Konoha, under escort. He said," I have a note saying that we are to let your guests in, but they will be escorted to the Hokage tower. ANBU."

Two ANBU appeared, and the six made their way to the Hokage tower. They entered the large building, and went up to the office. The ANBU knocked on the door, and was given a call of "Enter". They pushed open the doors, and walked in.

The Hokage was standing at the window while a clone was busy doing paper work. This had become a standard occurrence in the office, and had been adapted by those that could use Kage Bushin. Sarutobi turned around, and said," ANBU, leave us. I'll take it from here."

The two ANBU guards left as quickly as they appeared. Sarutobi said," So, tell me about the mission, and then we'll talk about these two."

Naruto stepped forward. They had planned this. He took out two scrolls, and unsealed the item in one. Hanzo appeared on the ground. Naruto said," We were unable to locate him in time, but we brought his body back as ordered."

He handed Sarutobi the letter, and he read it quietly. Then he said," Very well Naruto, Hanzo's body is yours to do with what you will. I hope you aren't planning on making him into a puppet just yet though. It would be a disaster for such a talent as Hanzo to disappear forever."

Naruto nodded, and then handed another scroll over. He said," This was also on his body when we found him. It has a blood seal keyed to you. Or at least, we assume it's keyed to you, since it's addressed to you."

Sarutobi looked at it, and indeed, it did have his name on it. He pricked his finger, and let three drops of blood hit the seal. Then he unrolled it, and read it as well. He channeled some chakra into another seal on the scroll, and a much larger scroll appeared on his desk. He sighed, and said," Naruto, you did your best in bringing Hanzo back, and I have a small reward for you. Here." He handed the large scroll over to him, and unrolled it. Sarutobi said," My friend Hanzo was a feared man. His ninja skills were top notch, and it was an uncommonly powerful enemy that killed him. This scroll is one that had been in his family for untold years. It is a summoning scroll, and has always been part of his family. His family has been wiped out, completely, by the enemy that killed him, so he sent this to me as a final act. It is the summoning contract of the Salamanders. He wanted to give it to Konoha, since it would be used for ideals he didn't believe in Ame. And so he sent it to me, to give to a person worthy of being his successor. I believe that you are worthy of it. If you want, you can be allowed to sign the contract, thus allowing you to summon powerful beasts, the likes of which few have seen. Do you want to do that?"

Naruto nodded, eager for the chance to gain more power. He signed his name in blood, right next to Hanzo, and then put his fingerprints on it too, also in blood. Sarutobi rolled up the scroll and said," These are the seals for the technique." He ran through them quickly, and Naruto nodded, catching every last one. He sealed Hanzo back into the scroll to avoid decay, then stepped back to Hawkeye's side.

Sarutobi smiled and said," Now, give me the full mission report."

For the next half hour, they ran through the report, leaving nothing out. At the end, Sarutobi said," I see. Do the two of you want to be Konoha shinobi?"

Juugo and Hikari both nodded solemnly. Sarutobi said," Very well. Are there any special skills that would make you unique?"

Hikari said," I'm an expert in my family Taijutsu style, and I can use the Silent Killing technique."

Juugo said," I can talk to birds, and they help me. And..." He stopped, considering. Then he said," I am the one that Orochimaru designed the Cursed Seal from."

For a few moments, there was silence. Sarutobi said," My old student designed the Cursed Seal from you?"

Juugo nodded," Hai. He used my blood to figure it out, and began giving it to those he wanted to have it. But there are two things I can do that he could never replicate."

Sarutobi leaned forward and said," What?"

Juugo swallowed, sure that this was going to end his chances at becoming a shinobi of the Leaf. He said," I can access the final form of the Cursed Seal, which is level three. And I can remove them, provided they haven't been used by the bearer."

Sarutobi said," You could remove them? But they can't have been used at all?"

Juugo sighed, and said," Hai."

Sarutobi said," If you remove the seal from one of my shinobi, I'll make sure that the council allows you to join us."

Juugo said," There is a Cursed Seal in Konoha? I didn't think he would spread it to anyone outside of his own people."

Sarutobi said," There is one, who received the prototype of seal. Hold on." He pressed the intercom and said," Cara-san, send for Anko-chan."

They waited for about ten minutes before the doors opened and a woman with Jounin attire and purple hair stepped into the room. She looked at the Hokage and the four others, then said," What is this?"

Juugo began to twitch. He could feel the seal. It was always the same, he would feel it, and the voice would become even stronger, saying for him to kill. He struggled against it, but it became too powerful, and he began to reach for her neck.

Naruto struck his arm and said," Juugo, stop that."

For a moment, he stared, then his eyes became gentle again, and he said," It happened again. Thank you for stopping me, Naruto."

Naruto nodded, and turned to Anko, saying," Well, this is certainly a pleasure. I don't think we've met, I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

Anko said," I know who you are, Gaki. What is this all about, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi said," Anko-chan, the boy over there, Juugo-san. He can remove the Cursed Seal."

Anko looked at him, then at the Hokage, then back at Juugo, then surprisingly at Naruto. Before she said the smartest thing she was capable of," Huh?"

Juugo said," I can remove the seal from you. But first tell me, have you ever used it? At all, for even a second?"

Anko said," NO! I would never use something that snake bastard gave to me."

Juugo nodded, and said," Good. Would you like me to remove it?"

Anko looked at him like he was crazy, then said," How can you remove it, our greatest seal masters couldn't remove it, so how can you do it?"

Juugo sighed, this was going to be painful. He said," I can remove it because it is based on my blood."

Anko looked at him, then said," You can remove it because it's based on YOUR blood? It was you who gave Orochimaru the Cursed Seal?"

Juugo said," I did not want to. He has captured me twice, once years ago when he extracted the needed materials to make them, and then again when he realized he couldn't replicate the Level three."

Anko was shocked. He was a victim as much as her. She said," I'm sorry. Please, remove the seal."

Juugo nodded, and said," Here, show it to me."

She pulled her shirt away and revealed the mark. Juugo cut his finger slightly and pressed it to the mark. There was a slight hiss, and a sharp intake of breath by Anko, then he removed his finger, and the mark broke up. Juugo smiled, and said," My blood has caused a lot of pain. I'm glad I got the chance to make it right for someone at least."

Anko nodded, then left, the happiest she had been in a long time.

Sarutobi said," Alright, you two will be ninja of Konoha. I'm placing you under Hawkeye for the time being, and you two, as well as Naruto-kun, will be team 11. You begin your team training tomorrow. For now, find a place to rest for the night."

Naruto spoke up," There's plenty of room at my apartment complex."

Hikari and Juugo nodded, glad that they would have a place to stay, at least temporarily. Sarutobi smiled, happy for the three new team mates. He said," Dismissed."

The four ninja bowed, and they turned and left. Hawkeye said to them," I'll have your headbands tomorrow. Meet here at seven sharp. Dismissed for now."

The group separated, Hawkeye to go off to drink, Naruto, Hikari, and Juugo to go to his apartment complex. The three teens arrived after a few minutes, and Naruto gave a hollow laugh as he realized just how bad the place was. He said," I'm sorry it's a mess, but I've not had a chance to fix it up lately."

The two of them looked at the apartment complex, and then Hikari turned to him and said," You own the WHOLE building?"

Naruto laughed a little and rubbed his head. He said," Yeah. See, when I first moved in here, it was pretty popular and well kept, but when I moved in, everyone left. The owner was planning on selling the building to the village, who would tear it down, but Sarutobi-jiji bought up the place. He gave it to me as a birthday present. Since then, I've lived here alone. Every apartment on the first three floors are available, but the top floor has been pretty much destroyed by now."

Juugo heard the undertone to what he was saying, and asked," What happened? You sound like something was done to the top floor to harm you."

Naruto sighed, and said," Come on in, I'll get you apartments, then we can eat in my place. I'll explain it all to you. But you have to promise me that you will not tell ANYTHING I'm going to tell you, to anyone."

Hikari and Juugo readily agreed, and Naruto said," Are you sure? I can't have this getting out, to anyone. You are my team mates, and I'm going to trust you. If you will break that trust, then you shouldn't listen to me at all."

They nodded, and Naruto led them into the building. He said," Oh, and the basement is completely off limits. I have my biggest project ever going on down there, and I don't want you to set off the traps protecting it. Speaking of which." He made a seal and said," Kage Bushin no Jutsu."

Instantly, at least thirty Naruto's appeared. He directed them down into the basement, and explained," It takes a lot of man power, and if I was working on it by myself, I would probably never get it done. With a healthy stream of clones though, I can have it done by the Chunin exams, though I have no intention of using it there. Now, let's go. My apartment is on the third floor, and I'll give you rooms close to mine."

He led them up to the third floor and showed them his door, which had all sorts of vulgar messages and threats on it. He unlocked the doors to either side of his, and said," These will be your rooms. They're exactly the same. Hikari, yours is left of my from the stairs. Juugo, yours is right. Come on into my room, and we'll get lunch. I don't have much, but we'll see what we can make."

The two entered his room after he opened the door with a chakra string. He said," That door is wired with as many traps as the basement, and only one who is adept at making chakra strings can get in. No one but me can do that here. Let me fix lunch, then we'll talk."

He made a quick lunch with everything that wasn't instant ramen in his fridge and cupboard. After he was done, he placed the plates on the table, and they all sat down to eat. For a few minutes, there was silence, then Naruto began speaking," You saw my door right? Of course you did. 'Die demon die', 'burn in hell, demon brat', and 'we'll finish what the fourth started'. These are just some of the messages left to me by the villagers. My story is a long one, despite me being only twelve. But it is also a sad one, and not for one who is easily scared or frightened. Last chance. Do you want to hear it?" They both nodded, and he sighed.

" My story begins twelve years ago, on October tenth, the day of my birth. That day was also the day my life was changed forever. Mine and everyone else's. What do you know about the history of Konoha in regards to that day?"

Hikari said," In Mist, it is said that on that day, twelve years ago, the Kyuubi attacked and was killed by the Fourth Hokage at the cost of his life."

Naruto nodded, and gave a sad, tired smile. He said," Half right. The Kyuubi did indeed attack on the day of my birth, but Yondaime didn't kill the demon. No mortal, no matter how powerful, could kill a demon of such power. Any tailed demon cannot be killed by mortal means. So Yondaime Hokage did the next best thing. He sealed it, at the cost of his life. He called down the Shinigami, and had it seal the demon away so that the village would be saved. The Shinigami then took Yondaime's soul and ate it, so that he would never know peace, forever consumed in the belly of the Death God. But Kyuubi was too powerful, and couldn't be sealed into just anything, like legends say other demons have been. There are tales in Suna that the Ichibi was sealed into a teapot, that was reinforced, but a teapot none-the-less. But Kyuubi is nine times the power of Ichibi, and so Yondaime didn't seal it into an inanimate object, but a person. A newborn, who had just been born."

Hikari gasped as she figured it out, and Juugo said," You."

Naruto nodded," Hai. I am the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the greatest of the tailed demons. But my tale has just started. I grew up, hated. Because the villagers couldn't see me for myself, as the vessel. Yondaime's last wish was for me to be seen as a hero, not a demon. But the village refuses to respect the dying wish of their greatest Hokage. They see me as Kyuubi reborn, as the demon that killed all their loved ones. The top floor of this building is ten apartments. They have all been destroyed. This is the eleventh apartment I have lived in since coming here, and since I got into this one, no one has gotten through my traps. A few has tried, but I managed to run them off. I am loathed to kill them, because then I will be the demon they think I am. Did you see, when we were walking the streets, that everyone glared at me. That is why. The Sandaime made a law when he realized that they wouldn't honor his successor's dying wish, one that said to speak of the Kyuubi being sealed in me would be counted as treason and treated as such. The punishment is death."

They were silent for a time, and then Naruto said," I grew up into what I am, not knowing what I was hated for. I only found out a few months ago, when one of my academy teachers tricked me into stealing the forbidden scroll for him. He was betraying the village and told me the truth about it. I would have gone insane at that time, but Iruka-sensei acknowledged me. Oh, by the way, Iruka-sensei is a chunin with a scar across his nose, and he adopted me about the time I learned the truth. I still live here, but that is only because I don't want to have the villagers attack Iruka-sensei's apartment because I'm there. He comes by twice a week, usually Thursdays and Saturdays. He brings me some food, and checks up on me. You might meet him, he should be here soon.

"Anyways, I was beaten, belittled, and denied service from stores. Those that didn't deny me service overcharged me for everything, three, maybe four times as much as normal. This has been going on since I was old enough to walk. I've lived alone since I was three, and even the academy teachers hated me. They tried to sabotage my work, and taught me the wrong seals just so I would screw up. That's actually how I figured out what I thought was my first original technique, but I found out later that I wasn't the creator, but my dad was.

"So, after I learned about Kyuubi, I was adopted by Iruka-sensei, and Hawkeye-sensei took me on as a personal apprentice. I would have been the odd one out in the class, so it's lucky that he offered me that chance. I went through two months of extensive training to make up for what I didn't learn at the academy. Then we took on missions. The mission to Ame was actually my second official mission, though bringing in Mizuki-teme was considered a B-ranked mission. So officially, I've completed two C-rank missions, one of which should have been a B or A-rank, and completed a B-rank mission.

"Can you guys keep a secret. I mean really, I've only just found out about this, like two days before we left for Ame, and I've not even told Iruka-sensei about it."

Hikari said," I am in your debt. I will never betray your confidences."

Juugo said," You have helped me, by being my friend if nothing else. I will take your secrets to the grave if need be."

Naruto nodded, then said," OK, I'm trusting you. Don't betray that. I am terrified that this will get out." He made some seals, and placed a privacy jutsu on the room, the ensure no eavesdroppers could hear him. He said," The villagers all think that by killing me, they can do the Fourth a favor and finish what he started. They cry out that all they do to me is in the name of avenging their fallen leader. They even go as far as to say that they are doing his noble work. But what they don't know is that they are betraying him." He took a breath, and said," My parents were hidden from me until about two weeks ago. Maybe three weeks now. I learned right after returning from Wave who my parents were. I have always feared that my parents abandoned me because of Kyuubi. That is not the truth. The truth is that my parents are two famous shinobi of the third great war. Kushina Uzumaki is my mother, better known as the Crimson Death on the battlefield. She died giving birth to me, as she went into premature labor due to the Kyuubi attack. She couldn't handle the stress of it all. But my father was Minato Namikaze, also known as Konoha's Yellow Flash, or Yondaime Hokage."

The two listeners looked at each other, then Hikari yelled," YOUR DAD WAS THE FUCKING YONDAIME HOKAGE, THE GUY THAT SEALED THE DEMON INTO YOU? WHAT KIND OF FATHER WOULD DO THAT?"

Naruto sighed, and said," My father did that because he loves this village, just as I do. He put the safety of the village before his own wishes, and died for it. He couldn't ask anyone else to give up their child, not when he could do it just as well. He had to be willing to give up everything. Even the life I should have led."

He sighed, and began stacking the dirty dishes and putting them in the sink before washing them. He said," So now you know. You have heard more about my life than anyone before you. I have had precious few friends, but I would like to count you as such."

Juugo said," I'll always be your friend, Naruto."

Hikari said," Yeah. I'll be with you until you die, brat."

Naruto gave a laugh, and said," then we will get along just fine."

The remaining week and half passed quickly for them. Sarutobi had indeed given them time off from missions, waiting for the Chunin exams. They had participated in several team exercises designed to work their teamwork up. Not that it needed much work. Naruto's confession and life story had united them together, to prove the village wrong about him, and by proxy his two team mates as well. Hawkeye was happy for them.

Finally, the day before the exams was scheduled to begin, Naruto, Juugo, and Hikari were walking together, enjoying the last bit of freedom they would have for a while. Then they heard something, shouting. Naruto moved towards them, and unrolled his scroll, revealing one of the two original puppets he bought in Suna all those years ago. Kira. He rounded the corner, preparing to attack as soon as he knew what was happening. He saw the grandson of the Hokage, Konohamaru, being held up by a genin from Suna. A genin wearing a black outfit with red face paint, carrying a bundle on his back. A genin that looked very, very familiar.

Naruto smirked, this would be fun.

He launched Kira at the genin and Konohamaru, moving forward at the same time. Kankuro dropped the boy and dodged as the puppet clanked at him. Naruto stepped into view, his medallion swinging from his neck, visible to them all. He said," I wouldn't do that if I was you. You might be allies of Konoha, but if you were to attack the grandson of Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage, then you might start a war between our two villages."

Kankuro growled and said," And I suppose you are going to stop me?" he reached for his bundle, and prepared to move it.

The two stared each other down, then rushed. Juugo and Hikari was about to attack when the two of them embraced. Kankuro smiled down at the shorter boy and said," You are a lot taller now, short stack. But you're still tiny compared to me."

Naruto broke the hug and said," It's good to see you, Kankuro-niisan."

he turned to the female Suna nin that had been hanging back and said," Temari-neechan."

Temari said," Naruto-kun."

Juugo and Hikari was confused, so Hikari, as spokesperson, asked," What in the name of Kami is going on?"

Naruto turned to his two team mates, and said," When I was seven, Hokage-jiji took me on a trip to Suna, because I needed to be protected at the time. Anyway, while there, I impressed the Kazekage, who allowed me to learn the tricks of puppetry from Kankuro. They got the ability of Shadow Clones, so they were happy. I'm sure by now that the Shadow Clone trick has gotten to every single Kage across the shinobi nations. Anyway, at the end of my trip, the Kazekage gave me this medallion, which signifies that I am an honorary member of his clan, and I sort of have adopted his three children as my brothers and sister. I didn't have a real family, so I made one for myself. By the way, tell Gaara to get out of the tree."

There was a blur, and Gaara appeared. He hadn't changed a bit, except getting taller. There was a gourd on his back now, however. He smirked at Naruto, and Naruto smirked right back. Naruto said," Still building your sand castles I see."

Gaara glared, then smirked at him again and said," You still like playing with dolls. Pity."

Naruto glared and said," They are not dolls, they are art to be admired and respected."

Gaara said," Whatever. It's good to see you, Naruto."

Naruto smiled and said," Same to you, Gaara. Now, this is your first time in my village, so let me return the favor you gave me all those years ago, and let me show you around my village."

The three sand siblings quickly agreed, and they spent the next few hours catching up with Naruto. He showed Kankuro Reaper, as the first original puppet made by Uzumaki Industries as he called his collection. As the six ate ramen at Ichiraku's that evening, Naruto asked," Kankuro, let me ask you something. And be honest. Your father sent me the scroll on Sasori's Hitokugutsu. Why didn't you use it?"

Kankuro sighed and said," I'll admit, I was tempted. But I couldn't stomach it. I couldn't do that to a deceased shinobi, or civilian either. I just couldn't."

Naruto nodded, and said," It's OK, Kankuro-niisan. You are still probably better than I am with puppets."

Kankuro smiled, even if he didn't believe it true. He looked at his younger brother. He was on his tenth bowl of the ramen. Kankuro sighed, and said," I know the ramen is good, but how can you eat that much, Gaara?"

Gaara looked at him, then went back to eating.

Naruto looked at Gaara for a moment, then thought. He had never seen anyone keep up to him at ramen eating. He knew why he ate so much, it was because he had a demon in his stomach that gave him abnormal metabolism.

A flash of understanding appeared to Naruto. His eyes, red from lack of sleep, with dark rings around them. He knew that could be a sign of insomnia, but it was also the identifying feature of one of the tailed beasts. He had researched carefully when he found out about the Kyuubi, and he knew the features of all the Jinchuuriki. He knew that those were the features of Shukaku, the Ichibi. The three siblings paid for their meal, or tried to. Old man Ichiraku waved them off, and said," The first taste is free, but I know that you will be back for more. No one resists the ramen once they taste it." Here, he began cackling madly until his daughter smacked him with a frying pan. Why she had a frying pan in her pocket, no one would ever know. Naruto paid for his team, knowing it would be bad manners to force one of them to pay, and he had plenty. He had been doing several D-ranked missions on the side since his return to Konoha from Ame. Or at least his shadow clones were. He had even caught Tora the cat, or Tora the demon-cat to some. Single-handed too.

The six ninja left the stall and was about to part ways when Naruto said," Tell me, is Shukaku bothering you, Gaara?"

He said it lowly so that no one but those six could hear him, and they all froze when he said it. Gaara looked at him, and said," You know?"

Naruto nodded and smiled. He said," I know the features of all the containers of the tailed demons. I could have been mistaken and you just had a really, really bad case of insomnia, but there was one feature that no book could tell me."

Kankuro said," And what would that be?"

Naruto smirked and said," No one but another container can possible keep up with me when eating ramen. Except maybe an Akimichi. And you're not one of them."

Temari heard what he said, and said," Another container?"

Naruto said," Yeah. Gaara holds the Ichibi, Shukaku of the Sand. I hold the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

The three sand ninja smiled, knowing that they wouldn't hate Gaara, because he knew what it was like. Temari said," Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled and said," My pleasure, Temari-neechan."

They separated, Naruto and his team going to the apartments, Gaara and his siblings going to their hotel.

The next day, Naruto woke up early, and went down into the basement. He disabled the traps, moving to his private building room. He entered, and dispelled the remaining clones. He dealt with the pain such an action caused him, though little, and went over to a scroll. It was an ultra-heavy duty scroll. He had designed it himself, creating it to hold his greatest puppet that wasn't made from a corpse. He sealed the puppet into the scroll, and placed it on a harness on his back. He went back up to the first floor, and his team mates met up with him a few minutes later. The three of them left, and saw Iruka right outside. Naruto said," Iruka-sensei. What you doing out here?"

Iruka said," I'm just here to wish you luck. Naruto, you're like a little brother to me, and I don't want to see you hurt. But I know that if any of the rookies, all of which are taking the exams, could survive, it will be you. Simply because you're too stubborn to die."

Naruto smiled and said," Believe it."

Iruka said," I thought I broke you of that."

Naruto gave a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his head, then he said," Got to go Iruka-sensei. The Chunin Exams are going to get a new one ripped into them this year."

Iruka smiled and said," I have no doubt."

The three genin disappeared, rushing to the academy where the first exam would take place. They entered the academy, and went up a flight of stairs, coming to a crowd of genin with two chunin blocking the door, which read 302. Naruto whispered to Juugo," We only went up one floor, right?"

Juugo nodded, and Naruto said," Good, if we're really quiet, we can slip away to the real third floor and won't have to deal..." he trailed off as a voice said," Drop the Genjutsu, and move. We're going to the third floor."

Naruto turned around and saw Sasuke. He sighed, which was caught by the arrogant Uchiha, who turned and said," What the hell you sighing for?"

Naruto smirked and said," You don't get it do you. That illusion was for those that was too weak to see through it. It was to weed out the competition. But no, you just had to go blow off without thinking, as you are famous for. Now we have to deal with all of these." he waved at the gathered genin to emphasize his point.

Juugo said," Naruto, please don't make a scene. Let's just go."

Naruto sighed and turned to leave. He led his team forward towards where Hawkeye was waiting with two other Jounin. One was the lazy genius, Hatake Kakashi. The other was a spandex wearing, bowl-cut hair wearing, thick eyebrows wearing Jounin. Naruto smirked, Konoha's resident Taijutsu master, Might Gai. Hawkeye said," Excellent, my students. I knew you wouldn't fail to appear. Kakashi, you owe me a hundred yen." He held out a hand. Kakashi grudgingly gave him the money. Hawkeye said," Got your forms, everything filled out, good. Now onward."

He moved aside, revealing a door. Naruto and his team went into the room, preparing for the Chunin exams.

Inside, there was literally hundreds of genin. And every last one was looking at them. Hikari said," Quit undressing me with your eyes, perverts."

Every male in the room turned away at that. She smirked, still got it.

They made their way to a corner of the room, waiting quietly for the test to begin, when there was a squeal of," Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto turned to his two team mates and said," Is it just me, or can she use that squeal as a weapon?"

Juugo said," I didn't hear anything to tell me it was a weapon. Maybe I'm not good enough for it."

Hikari said," It's just you, shorty."

Naruto was about to yell at her when a smooth voice interjected to the official 'rookie nine'. It said," You guys should keep it down. Everyones tense and you don't want to cause a scene."

Naruto turned to see a boy wearing a forehead protector of the Leaf, with silvery-gray hair. Naruto and his team mates got closer to hear him, and they heard him say that he had info on the exam as well as the competition. Sasuke said," Individual cards on people. Can you tell me the specifics of certain people?"

the boy, who was named Kabuto, said," Of course. Who you want?"

Sasuke said," Rock Lee of Konoha, Gaara of Suna, and Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha."

Everyone was surprised of the last name, but Kabuto took it in stride," Let's see, first is Gaara of Suna. Huh, not a whole lot. He's a foreigner, and is a rookie genin, just like you. Mission history is eight c-rank missions and one B-rank. Hey, that can't be right. Says here that he has come back from every mission without a scratch on him. Even the B-rank.

"Anyway, next is Rock Lee of Konoha. A genin that has been with his team since last year. First time taking the exam. Has no talent whatsoever in Nin or Gen-jutsu, but Taijutsu is through the roof. Team mates are Hyuuga Neji and Tenten. Mission history is twenty D-rank and eight C-rank. His sensei is Might Gai, the second best Jounin in Konoha.

"Finally, Uzumaki Naruto. He had failed the Genin test three times, and graduated under unusual circumstances. He's a puppet user, and is on friendly terms with the Hokage, as well as has an adopted family in the Kazekage's family. His ninjutsu is average, genjutsu are abysmal unless using a special series of them that is only available to him. Taijutsu is above average, and he is beginning to study into Fuinjutsu. It is rumored that he has access to hidden techniques of puppetry, and has studied the works of Akasuna no Sasori, gaining the ability to use..." He stopped when he felt two kunai at his throat. He said," If you value your life, you won't say anything else about my abilities. I don't let people know about them for a reason."

Kabuto gulped and said," Mission history is rather unique. One B-rank, one C-turned-B-rank, in conjecture with team eight, and one C-rank. No D-rank officially as a genin, but over fifty done in the last week and a half for extra money. He is famous among the pencil pushers for his ability to capture Tora the cat single-handedly."

Naruto removed his kunai and said," Now, that wasn't so hard, was it."

A few seconds later, there was an explosion and several chunin appeared, along with a tall Jounin with a bandana, who yelled," Alright maggots, line up. It's time for your first test."

-0-0-

I'm happy with this chapter. I really liked it. Not a whole lot of action, but like I said, it's pretty much filler and getting to the actual exam. If you don't like me telling Naruto's story to Juugo and Hikari, just remember that there is a reason, which will be revealed in due time. Next chapter I think I'm going to have the first and second parts of the exam. I hate when people write the second exam like," Naruto's team found a group of weaklings in the first five minutes through superior tracking(using Kage Bushin), and manage to complete the exam in five hours." I'm sorry, but unless it's a super Naruto fic, then that don't happen. Sorry to rant at you, but it gets to me. It's like they just want to get through to the final rounds so Naruto can kick whoever's can to next week. If you want to do that, just start the fking thing at that point. Sorry again. Anyway, that's the chapter. Peace.


	7. Forest of Death and Preliminaries

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Don't sue me.

Here is chapter seven. In this one, Naruto and his team mates, along with the rest of the genin, begin the Chunin Exams. This should go through to the end of the second exam. And it should be noted that Naruto has by now, figured out the Human Puppet technique, and has made Haku and Hanzo into puppets. Now, let's get it on. Chapter seven, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

-0-0-

the genin lined up and moved into the next room, giving their forms and getting a seat number as they did so. Naruto found himself next to Hinata and a Cloud genin. He smiled at Hinata, and she grinned back at him.

The scarred man came in and said," OK, shut up and listen, I'm not repeating myself or answering questions, so listen well. This exam is the first of many for those that want to be Chunin. The first test is a paper test. But this test is rather unique. You have ten questions, and one hour to finish them. You start out with a perfect score of ten, and for every wrong answer, you lose a point. If you fail, then you and your team mates are all disqualified and you will be escorted out. If you cheat, and are caught, then you lose two points. Get caught cheating five times and you will be out of here, along with your team. Now, the papers have be passed out. You have one hour." He set a clock, and set it on the front desk and said," GO!"

The group of genin flipped the exam over and began working on it. Naruto looked at the first question, and read it quickly. It was complicated. He moved on to the second question.

Within a few minutes each and every one of them were working their best to answer the question. Naruto had come to a realization.

'This test is impossible for a genin.' that was his big thought. He calmed down and thought. Look underneath the underneath. What are the rules. You lose a point for every wrong answer, and two if you are caught cheating. If you lose all the points, you fail, and your team mates go too. So he had to get something right.

In a moment of clarity, he realized. He wasn't supposed to know the answer. He was supposed to cheat. This was a test of his information gathering skill. He smirked, he could do that.

He looked at Juugo, three rows up and to the left. He was listening quietly to a bird that had appeared. Naruto smirked, he had learned shortly after Juugo had been put on his team that he could actually summon small birds. It was a great thing considering that he can understand them. It was perfect for spying. He had figured out the test's true purpose. Next he looked for Hikari. She was seemingly doing nothing, but he knew better. She had a rather unique ability, similar to the Yamanaka's mind techniques. If she closed her eyes and extended a tendril of chakra, she could see through the eyes of anyone that it touched. It was nigh invisible unless she wanted to be visible, but she never would do that. She had figured it out too. He unveiled one of his puppets. It was a small one that was shaped like a small spider. It could give a bite that would render someone unconscious for about ten minutes. He smiled and sought out his victim. A Sound Genin in the next row. He sent the puppet to bite him and drag the paper back to him. The Sound genin was knocked out in a moment. Naruto quickly scanned the paper, and then copied the answers. He then sent the paper back after changing the answers on it. He smiled, he loved messing with people.

For the next twenty minutes, he sat back and waited. Then the Jounin at the front said," OK, now it is time, for the tenth question. But first there are some more rules that are absolute. You have to choose the take the question or not. If you chose not to, then you lose all your points, and you and your team mates will be escorted out. But if you chose to take the question and get it wrong, then you will lose all your points and be kicked out of the exam, and you will never be allowed to take the test again. You will be genin for the rest of your career as ninja. Now choose."

Slowly, the people who weren't cut out for it left. After ten minutes, the nearly three hundred chunin hopefuls were cut down to barely eighty. Ibiki looked out at the remaining members of the examinees, and said," Anyone else? You're gambling your chance to take the exam again and make chunin. No? Then all of your have passed the first portion of the Chunin Selection Exams."

Everyone went into an uproar. Ibiki explained the true purpose of the test, and the tenth question. As he finished his explanation, he turned to the side as a black ball barreled through the window. It snapped open, revealing a banner, saying," The sexy second examiner: Mitarashi Anko."

It was the woman that Juugo had helped. Naruto smiled at his large friend. She probably wouldn't mess with them like Ibiki did, at least not his team. Or so he thought.

Anko smiled sadistically and said," Alright maggots, no time to be happy, you still have more to do. The second exam begins now."

Ibiki moved out from behind the banner and said," Anko, you're early again."

Anko said," Oh, sorry Ibiki-chan. It's just that I felt the need for a great entrance." Then she counted the examinees, and said," Ibiki, you're losing your touch, theres still twenty seven teams."

Ibiki growled," Or maybe their just exceptional."

Anko snorted and said," Well, I guarantee that there will be less than half at the end of this next exams. Alright maggots, meet me at training ground forty four in ten minutes." She vanished in a puff of smoke.

Ten minutes later, Anko and the other proctors were handing out the papers and explaining the exam. Naruto and his team mates signed the papers and went to get their scroll. What no one noticed was a small bird that had appeared in the corner of the proctors' tent. Naruto and his team stood at gate eleven. Twenty minutes later, Anko's voice came over the PA and said," The second phase of the Chunin Selection Exam begins now." The gates opened, and every last team went into the forest.

Naruto and his team stopped less than twenty feet into the training ground. He said," This is going to be fun. Juugo, what's the bird say?"

Juugo listened to the little bird report, and he nodded, before the bird flew off again. He said," There is a team with the scroll we need fifteen minutes running in that direction." He pointed to the left of them, and continued," It's Konoha Genin Team seven under Hatake Kakashi. Team consists of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and a boy named Sai."

Naruto said," Normally I wouldn't go after a Konoha team, but I don't like the Uchiha. Let's get them."

the three tore off after Team Seven. Within fifteen minutes of starting, they came to a rest and saw them. They were currently fighting a Kusa nin. The three of them watched, fascinated as the Kusa nin was burned to a crisp. Or so they thought.

The Kusa nin came out of the fire relatively unharmed. Part of her skin was melted off, revealing white skin underneath. She made a seal and her neck elongated before she bit into Sasuke's neck. For a moment, she remained there, then pulled back as he collapsed. There was a mark on his neck now, three little tomoes arranged in a circle. He looked up at the nin as she pulled her face off, revealing a white but masculine face underneath. Sasuke said," Who...who're you?"

The nin leaned down and said," I'm Orochimaru. When you want more power than this village can provide, come find me."

In the trees, Juugo was suddenly different. His eyes grew angry, and though it seemed like his other personality was coming through, his eyes showed that he was in complete control. Naruto smirked, his two sides had reached an agreement on something. The death of the Snake Sannin.

Juugo rushed out and barreled at Orochimaru, his powerful arm catching the Snake Sannin unawares. He went flying as the Cursed Seal covered Juugo's face and torso. Naruto and Hikari landed next to him. Naruto unsealed Titan, and Hikari got into her family's taijutsu stance. Juugo looked at his team mates, and then back to the Snake Sannin, who was getting back up. Orochimaru said," Well, Juugo. It's good to see you again. Been keeping busy I see."

With a cry, Juugo rushed him, throwing punches around like candy. No one pissed him off as much as this man. Juugo attempted to crush his head, but he nimbly moved aside. Naruto sent Titan at him, who was equal to Juugo in terms of raw power, at least normally. With the Cursed Seal active, Juugo was much stronger than the puppet. Juugo and Titan began delivering vicious punches and kicks at the agile snake, and he continued to dodge and force them to miss. Titan then launched a smoke bomb, obscuring the area.

Hikari knew that was her signal, and jumped into the fight. Naruto stood there waiting patiently for the fight to end. Hikari was a master of silent killing, and he knew that in that screen, all hell was breaking loose. Then three forms came out. The first was the shattered remains of Titan. The second was Juugo, battered and bloodied. The third was Hikari, who seemed OK all things considered. Then Orochimaru stepped out of the cloud as it started drifting apart. He looked at Naruto and said," So, the Kyuubi child, Konoha's resident puppet user. I have no reason to kill you, and you interest me. So," He moved forward, his hand glowing. He yelled," Gogyo Fuin." And hit Naruto's stomach. He fell back, out cold.

Orochimaru looked at Hikari and said," Get them help, or you will all die a painful death at the hands of either the ninja in the exam or the creatures of the forest." And with that, he was gone.

Two days later, Naruto regained consciousness. Juugo and Hikari were both up and waiting for him. Naruto said," What the hell hit me?"

Hikari said," A Sannin is what hit you."

Naruto nodded, satisfied with the answer. He said," How long do we have until the end of the exam?"

Juugo said," Three days. You've been out for two. But I have good news for you."

Naruto said," What is it?"

Juugo said," We found a team that had the scroll we needed. We can head to the tower now."

Naruto nodded, and they started towards the tower, ready for the third portion of the exams.

Two hours later, Naruto stopped them, and the two of them looked at him. Naruto said," Something is happening. I hear fighting, and it sounds like..." He trailed off, then said," Puppets. Someone is using puppets in this forest, a girl."

Hikari and Juugo nodded, and the group jumped away. They reached the place Naruto was hearing from, and there was team seven. Naruto cursed under his breath as he saw Sakura wielding a puppet. He almost snapped then and jumped at her, but he reigned in his desires to kill the blasphemer to his art. No one in Konoha has puppets except him. It was HIS calling card.

He calmed himself again, then said," Let's watch what happens."

The three Ame ninja were all scattered among several bushins, and team seven were all standing in a line. Sakura had a puppet, Sai had two ink dragons circling him, and Sasuke had the cursed seal on and Sharingan blazing. There was also Kabuto. When he saw that, Juugo said," Naruto, Kabuto isn't who we think he is. He's Orochimaru's right hand man."

Naruto nodded, understanding it. Kabuto took a kunai meant for Sai, and Sasuke charged, his eyes angry and the seal extending further. He smashed into the clones, dispelling them like nothing, and then he reached the first of the three real ninja. He caught him in a grip and broke his arm in two places. Then he delivered a brutal kick to his sternum. They fell back when they realized that the boy could see where they were.

Naruto smirked, he liked the idea he suddenly had. He moved towards them, and found them in another clearing. He pulled his shirt's sleeve up, revealing a tattoo, of the kanji for 'King'. He pressed his finger to it, and charged chakra into the tattoo through it. There was a poof, and Naruto had a puppet in his hand. He connected six strings, then jumped down towards the Ame ninja. Juugo and Hikari followed, knowing his plan.

The three Ame were licking their wounds when they saw the three new ninja. They got up and prepared, before one said," Lucky, we get another chance to beat up on Konoha ninja."

Naruto smirked and said," Tell me, how is your leader? Hanzo, right?"

The second one said," Hanzo is dead. Our leader is a god now."

Naruto smirked, and twitched his finger. From the shadows behind the three ninja, his puppet came forward.

The first they realized something was wrong was when their leader was grabbed from behind. The other two turned and saw the thing holding him. A middle-aged man with graying brown hair. He wore a blue and white shirt and pants, much like a Jounin of Ame. He carried himself upright and proud, even when he was strangling a person. His skin seemed to be metallic in nature. But it was his eyes that gave him away. Deadly, poisonous yellow eyes. Only one man had eyes like that. The two Ame ninja spoke as one," Hanzo."

A snap was heard, and the leader was dead with his throat snapped. Hikari moved in a blur, getting inside the guard of the second before delivering a brutal hit to his chest. He fell back, clutching his chest as he did so. Juugo moved on the last of them. Naruto said," You three attempted to kill Konoha shinobi. For that, we will bring you to justice. And that justice is what you failed to do. Killing you."

Juugo grabbed the third nin and quickly beat his head into a tree. He fell down, his skull crushed, never to rise again. Hikari jumped into the air, before delivering a blow to the final nin's temple. He staggered back, disoriented. She moved forward, her fist moving to strike his throat, hard. His windpipe collapsed, and he was dead in a few minutes later from lack of air.

Naruto smirked before setting the three corpses on fire. As they burned away, Naruto said," Now people should know not to mess with Konoha."

Juugo nodded, slightly disturbed that he had killed again. Except this time, he knew it was happening. Naruto saw him and said," Juugo, these three would have attacked the innocent, the ones that couldn't defend themselves. They ran from team Seven as soon as they realized they weren't winning. These kind of people don't deserve mercy."

Juugo nodded, and the three of them ran off to the tower.

Three days later, the second phase of the exam ended, and the genin stood in the center room of the tower. The Hokage was talking about the true purpose of the exam. An alternative to war. Then the proctor of the third exam, Gekko Hayate, appeared and started the preliminaries after explaining that there was far too many to compete in the main part. The screen came on, and they all looked up at it.

Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi

Hayate said," Everyone but the two named fighters, go up to the observation gallery."

Everyone moved off, and Naruto leaned against the railing as he watched the fight. All things considered, it wasn't that great. Naruto smirked as he realized that Yoroi could eat chakra with his hands. But in the end, Sasuke used a taijutsu move to finish the match, knocking Yoroi out.

As the medics took Yoroi away, and Kakashi took Sasuke away, the rest of them looked up at the screen, and saw the next to fighters.

Juugo vs. Sai

Sai jumped down quickly. Juugo took the stairs and his time getting down to the floor. He looked at Sai and said," I have no ill will to you, but I won't lose here."

Sai said," Hai, but neither will I."

Hayate looked at the two of them, and said," second match, Hajime."

He jumped back as Sai pulled out his art book. He channeled some chakra, and an ink tiger jumped at Juugo. He dodged, and punched, dispelling the ink creature. Sai backpedaled as he went on the offensive. Juugo didn't give him time to prepare his ink drawings, and he smirked when he realized it. Juugo said," You have to have time to get the ink drawings to work. I'm not going to give you that time."

Sai ducked under a hit, and snapped a quick kick, hoping to catch him off guard. He did, but the kick did absolutely nothing. Juugo said," I have incredible physical strength, and you can't beat me in the physical aspect."

Sai dodged aside and pulled out a short ninja-to. He tried to cut Juugo, who dodged aside. He swept inside his guard and head butted him. Sai fell back, his nose broken by the hit. Juugo grabbed his arm and swung him into the air before slamming him into the ground, hard. Sai blacked out at that.

The medics took him away to patch up, and Juugo went to the balcony again. Naruto said," Good fight, Juugo."

Hikari nodded," Yeah, good work Juugo-san."

Juugo nodded, and turned to the screen, which had activated from a cough from the sickly proctor. Naruto said," That has to be cough activated. It's the only explanation."

His two team mates laughed at that, and the screen showed the next two fighters.

Hikari vs. Haruno Sakura

The two kunoichi went down to the arena floor, and stood facing each other. The proctor said," Third match, Hajime."

He jumped away as the two kunoichi stared at each other. Hikari made the first move with no visible reason. She jumped forward and launched a rapid spin kick to Sakura's face, attempted to end it quickly.

Sakura dodged away, and then launched three kunai at her. She blocked them with her own kunai, and threw it. Sakura dodged that as well. She wasn't even breathing hard.

In the shadows, two figures watched. They were Sasori and Deidara. They had cast an illusion on them that would protect them from sight, smell, and sound. Sasori said," I hope she has the sense to not use her more powerful weapons for this. It wouldn't do for her to reveal such things like the Raikage."

Deidara nodded, but didn't speak. He was obviously upset that his student has lost so quickly.

Back in the match, the two kunoichi were doing their level best to kill the other. Sakura had launched a powerful combo at Hikari, but she dodged the majority of it. The two were incredibly flexible, and only one attack in ten hit. But they were slowing down now. Finally the two stopped to catch their breath, and Hikari said," Ready to get serious?"

Sakura smiled at her, and nodded. Hikari made a hand seal and said," Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu."

The arena filled with a thick mist, and from within, the sounds of battle could be heard. For about ten minutes, no one could see what was happening. Finally the mist began to clear, and they looked to see what happened.

Inside the mist immediately after it formed, Hikari began moving, striking as quickly as humanly possible, and striking from Sakura's blind spots. The mist was so thick she couldn't see anywhere, so the blind spots were all around. But somehow, she continued to dodge. Finally, Hikari got tired of it, and prepared to strike her heart. As she moved forward, she struck the heart squarely. She smirked, then the smirk turned to a look of horror as 'Sakura' turned to face her, bits of her face coming off. Sakura appeared out of the mist somewhere completely different, twitching her fingers. She said," This is Hirashi, my first original puppet. You won't escape from him, he's designed to capture. Give up or you will die."

Hikari considered for a moment, then said," No. I refuse to let you win this easily. You didn't want to reveal your puppet skills, did you? No, of course not. So you should know that I didn't want to reveal something about myself either. But you have forced it."

She began concentrating, and the mist seemed to gather around her, before the mist closest to her changed into a spear of water, which attempted to stab the puppet, which disengaged. The water turned from a spear into normal liquid water, and began spinning around Hikari, who wove it into a defensive layer of armor around her. Then she concentrated, bringing the mist closer, forming it into water again and adding to her armor. She said," I call this one my H2O armor. No one can penetrate it with physical moves, and I doubt that you have elemental abilities yet. Let's see what you can do."

The people in the stands were amazed, and it showed. Naruto smiled, she was utilizing her bloodline, an unnatural affinity for water. An ability to use water in any way she chose to. Juugo nodded slightly, knowing the match was going to get better from here.

In the arena, the two combatants faced each other, and Sakura twitched her fingers, sending the puppet on the attack. The puppet aimed for her head, the only available target. It stretched one of it's arms forward, and attempted to stab her with a blade hidden in the palm and wrist. The water moved to cover her head, and it didn't penetrate more than a third of the way through. Hikari said," Nice try, but not good enough. My H2O armor is the best there is, and only elements can hit me now."

Sakura recalled the puppet before sealing it into a scroll. Hikari moved to attack immediately. Sakura did her best to dodge and get some distance. She was trying to figure out a way to hit her. Finally she said under her breath," Sasori-sensei, I'm sorry, but I have to use it."

She pulled a scroll out, getting the attention of everyone. Hikari stopped her attack to see what she was going to do. Sakura said," This is my best puppet, bar none. I hope you are ready for this." She unrolled it, and channeled chakra into the scroll, which emitted a cloud of smoke as it expelled the contents of the scroll. As the smoke cleared, everyone felt a bit more fear as they saw it. He had sandy-blonde hair, and green eyes just like Sakura herself. He wore a close-fitting yellow and white robe with the kanji 'Rai(lightning)' on his chest. His skin was metallic and gritty. He clanked as he stood up to his full height of six six. Most everyone recognized the puppet, and who it was.

Sarutobi said," The Sandaime Raikage."

Sakura said," This is the end for you." She twitched her fingers, and the Sandaime Raikage moved forward, fist cocked back to strike. He hit her armor near her stomach, but his fist only went in about halfway. Hikari laughed and said," a powerful shinobi, but still not good enough."

Sakura said," Tell me, do you know who that was? That is the Sandaime Raikage. RAI. The Lightning Shadow. And water conducts electricity."

Hikari looked down to see the puppet still had his arm embedded in the water that made her armor. His fist began to crackle with lightning, and suddenly, several bolts of the lightning was arcing across her skin. She fell back, her skin blistering from the contact. Hayate looked at her, then said," Hikari is unable to continue. Winner, Haruno Sakura."

Sakura smirked as she resealed the Raikage. She moved up to the stands as the medics brought Hikari out of the arena. Hayate coughed, and the board began scrolling again. After a minute, the screen stopped, and they looked.

Yamanaka Ino vs. Inuzuka Kiba

Kiba and Ino both made their way down to the floor for their match. Ino was scared. She knew she didn't have any special skills beyond her family jutsu, which wouldn't work too well here. She gulped as Kiba swaggered around, preparing for the beat down to come. Hayate said," Fourth match, Hajime."

The two of them moved immediately, before Ino threw several shuriken. Kiba dodged with no effort, and said," Before I royally mess you up, how about you just surrender. You know you can't beat me."

Ino said," How about you give up instead."

Kiba smirked and said," I knew you were going to say that." He did some hand seals and suddenly the arena began to crackle as small bits of lightning appeared. Kiba said," This technique really doesn't have a name, but I found it in my clan library. I hope you like it." He released it, and several bolts of lightning appeared across the entire arena floor, shocking Ino several and causing her to fly back. She landed hard on her side. Kiba appeared before her, and two quick punches later, she was out like a light.

Hayate checked her, then declared Kiba the winner. He then coughed as Ino and Kiba were taken off the arena, or in Kiba's case, walked off. The screen activated again, and cycled. After a moment, the fifth match was decided.

Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto vs. Yakushi Kabuto

Naruto smiled, Sarutobi had done as he had asked. He had asked that he be allowed to use his father's name in the exam, and they had allowed it. He would be known as the son of Yondaime by days end, or should at any rate. Naruto jumped down onto the arena floor and prepared for the upcoming fight. He smiled at his opponent. Kabuto gave him a warm grin as well. He said," Well Naruto-kun, this should be fun. Go easy on me."

Naruto smirked and said," What kind of fool do you take me for."

Kabuto said," What do you mean?"

Naruto gave an answer in a minute," Juugo told us about you."

Hayate looked at the two conversing. He then said," Ready?" He got nods from both, and said," Fifth match, Hajime." He jumped back.

The two looked at each other for a moment, then Kabuto moved. He couldn't believe his luck, he got to face Naruto of all people. He hand Hikari were the only ones he didn't have data on. He had already seen Hikari fight, though she fell in the end. But Sakura was a surprise, using the human puppet technique. He brought himself back to the present as Naruto opened up a scroll and unsealed the contents. He smirked at Kabuto as Reaper appeared. He said," Let's dance, little boy." He connected the strings, and sent Reaper off after Kabuto. It emitted a howl as it moved, and it unnerved Kabuto slightly. He dodged the first swing of the scythe, and dropped to the ground to avoid the follow up swing. He rolled as the puppet stomped where he was. He jumped up and launched three shuriken. The puppet brought up a hand and blocked them. Naruto smirked, it was time to unveil his next trick. He unrolled another scroll, and while still having Reaper assault Kabuto, unsealed it's contents. From the smoke appeared Titan. He connected the strings and sent the puppet after Kabuto too. Kabuto was soon dodging blows that would take his head off if they connected. He dodged a strike to his head by Titan by inches, and was suddenly grabbed by something. He turned to look, and saw a third puppet holding him. It was tall, and had the standard brown cloak of Suna puppets.

Naruto said," His name is Jingo, one of the two puppets I got when I started using them. He's my number two. Here's number one." He unsealed Kira and sent him off too.

Kabuto was now aiming to take out the strings as fast as possible. He saw that Naruto had only four fingers twitching, so he was controlling each with only one string. If he could cut them, he could stop the puppet. He created a chakra scalpel and cut the strings to Kira and Titan. He then dodged a swipe from Reaper and cut his string too. He then cut the string to Jingo as he tried to grab him again. The four puppets dropped, and he created hand seals, preparing a jutsu. He yelled," Fuuton: Daitoppa." He launched the wind at Naruto, which also picked up the puppets and sent them flying. The puppets and Naruto hit the wall, and he fell down. Kabuto smirked, before Naruto stood back up, sealing his four puppets into his scrolls. He then rolled up his left sleeve, to reveal a tattoo of the kanji 'Ice'. He said," This is one of my three finisher puppets. I hope you like it." He channeled chakra, and with a blast of smoke, he was covered. They heard clanking from within the cloud, and as it fell away, the spectators, as well as Kabuto, saw what he had.

The puppet looked like a girl. She had long black hair, and cold blue eyes. She wore a blue outfit that didn't reveal anything, and was modest. Naruto connected several strings and said," This is Haku. He was my first combat kill. He has a rather special talent. Like my team mate Hikari, he can control an element to a degree that is unheard of. What is also unheard of is the fact that he controls not a main element, but a sub-element. Haku can use Ice jutsu, and can control it far greater than anyone I ever knew, and will probably ever know. He taught me a lot, and for that, he became puppet number seven, my first human puppet." He smirked at the look of growing horror on the spectators faces as he continued speaking. He said," Now, let's see what kind of person survives the fury of Ice." He made Haku launch a blast of ice at Kabuto, who dodged aside. The ice hit the ground and froze it. Naruto made some hand seals and spewed water from his mouth. It was nowhere near enough to fill the arena, but it did cause about an inch of water to form on the floor. Kabuto smirked at him and ran forward, ready to end this battle. His smirk slipped as Haku froze the water, creating a thin layer of ice on the ground. He slipped as he attempted to correct, and ran down the slight slope that is never noticeable to anyone. He came to rest at Haku's feet, who pinned him to the ground with a bunch of needles made of ice. Several more needles were hovering close to him, at the eight points that would result in a kill with a clean hit. The eight points Zabuza had favored so much. Naruto said," Give up. I don't want to kill you, and Haku never wanted to kill anyone."

Kabuto sighed, he was finished. He said," I give."

The ice that covered the arena and the ice needles disappeared into vapor, and Naruto turned to the proctor. He said," winner, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto."

He went over to Kabuto and said," Remember this moment. Remember what could have happened and didn't. Orochimaru wouldn't have spared you. You would be dead now if it was someone else."

Kabuto gulped, and nodded. The two of them went up to the stands, and Kabuto rejoined his single team mate left. He kept glancing at Naruto, wondering.

(the rest of the fights are the same as Canon, and in this order.

sixth match: Kankuro vs. Tsurugi Misumi

seventh match: Aburame Shino vs. Abumi Zaku

eighth match: Nara Shikamaru vs. Tsuchi Kin

ninth match: Hyuuga Hinata vs. Hyuuga Neji

tenth match: Gaara vs. Rock Lee

Eleventh match: Temari vs. Tenten

Twelfth match: Kinuta Dosu vs. Akimichi Chouji

I'm lazy, and don't want to write it out. Basically, when Rock Lee would have saved Tenten at the end of her match, Shino did with his bugs. That's the only real change. Lee was already in the infirmary from his fight with Gaara.)

The twelve finalists stood before the three proctors and the Hokage. Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe and said," To all of those that won, congratulations. You are now in the final portion of the Chunin exams. Now, please come up and get a card from the box that Anko-chan is holding, and show the number on it to Ibiki-kun."

One by one, they went up to get the numbers. Hyuuga Neji got one, Naruto got two, Inuzuka Kiba got three, Sakura got four, Sasuke got five, Temari got six, Aburame Shino got seven, Kankuro got eight, Shikamaru got nine, Gaara got ten, Kinuta Dosu got eleven, Juugo got twelve. Ibiki finished writing down, and then held up the chart, as the Hokage said," This is the line up for the final matches. Please note them, as they will be your opponents in a month's time. You have this month to prepare new strategies and jutsu, and to train. Everyone here has seen what you can do, so use this time well. I wish you all the best of luck in the final exams. Now, just because you don't win your matches doesn't mean you won't make Chunin. It just means that you won't get as much a chance to show your skills. So those that win, get a chance to continue showing your skills that might make you chunin material. Any questions?"

Temari raised her hand and said," So all of us could become Chunin?"

Sarutobi nodded, and said," Hai, but no one could be named Chunin. The choice will be made by the visiting Kages and dignitaries. If you show the skills, you will make Chunin. Now, any other questions? No, then dismissed. The finals will be in one month at the stadium."

They all nodded, and Naruto looked at the paper showing who was fight who. It was set up in three brackets, with four people to a bracket. Match one and two were in the first bracket, and then the winners fought each other in the second round. Match three and four were in the second bracket, and their winners would fight in the second round. Match five and six were in the final bracket, and their winners would fight each other in the second round. Then the three winners of those second round matches would face each other in a three way battle. Naruto smirked, this was going to be fun.

match one-Hyuuga Neji vs. Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto

Match two-Inuzuka Kiba vs. Haruno Sakura

match three-Uchiha Sasuke vs. Temari

match four-Aburame Shino vs. Kankuro

match five-Shikamaru vs. Gaara

match six-Kinuta Dosu vs. Juugo

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Alright, here is chapter seven. I know I said it would be the first two parts of the exam, but I didn't have as much to say about the forest of death as I thought I would. I hope I did the scene with Orochimaru justice, because I really don't think I did. But anyway, next chapter is the bits of what happens in the month before the exams, and the exams themselves. I hope you like it, and I'm taking bets. Who will win, who will be the final three, and so on. Place your bets. Those that get it right can submit a puppet that I will use, no matter how stupid it might seem. Just no really big ones, and no rider/armor puppets. He has Shukaku, that is all he needs, and Sakura has a rider/armor puppet too, that will be revealed in the next chapter or two. Now, I hope to have the entire finals in the next chapter, but I might need to separate it into two chapters. For now, it's late, and I'm tired. Peace.


	8. Training and the Finals

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Don't sue me.

Here is chapter eight. In this, there is training, and then the first part of the Chunin Exam finals. I've been told that Sakura and Sai are way too powerful in this. I will say this, Sai and Sakura are stronger than in canon, but think for a moment. I really haven't gone too far with this. Sai has little to no skills beyond his ink jutsu. He now has the exploding clay, but cannot use it well. Sakura has been changed drastically, and as such, her puppet skills should be believable. She has been trained by Danzo as a ROOT ANBU. She has perfect chakra control, but not a lot of chakra to control. As such, she is perfect for puppet techniques. So her strength should be believable. If you don't feel that way, I'm sorry, but it's not being changed. Sorry about the rant, but it just gets to me. Here we go, chapter 8, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

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As Naruto left the forest with Juugo, he said," I think Hikari is in the hospital after that. Want to go see her before training?"

Juugo nodded, and they left for the hospital in a blur. When they arrived, Naruto waited in the background as Juugo asked which room she was in. after he found out, the two teens went to see her. They entered the room silently, and Naruto sat down next to her. She smiled at him before wincing in pain. She had bandages covering her entire body, and some as far up as her neck. She had managed to avoid getting any burns on her face, but it was a close thing. She said," Hey, why aren't you guys training?"

Naruto smiled and said," We need to find Hawkeye-sensei to get that training, and we figured we'd visit you before that happened. Me and Juugo are both in the finals. If me and Haruno both win our first matches, then we'll face each other in the second round. I'll make sure she pays for hurting you, Hikari-chan."

Hikari nodded, and Juugo offered his short "Get well soon." Then Hawkeye entered the room, and said," Naruto, Juugo, good. We'll be training together for this next month, OK?" The two boys nodded, and Hawkeye turned to Hikari and said," Now Hikari, I'm not going to let you slack off your training because you aren't in the finals. I have set up for you to learn with one of the other Jounin while we are off. When you get better, find Mitarashi Anko. She has an unnatural obsession with Dango, so she'll probably be at her favorite Dango stall every day at lunch, and possibly dinner too. She'll train you when you're better." Hikari nodded. Hawkeye said," Naruto, Juugo, let's go. We have a lot to do."

The three male members of team eleven went out of the hospital, and disappeared to the training area.

The month went quickly for everyone. The twelve finalists worked hard to improve. Neji had forced Tenten into training with him so he could perfect the Kaiten. Sakura worked on her newest puppet, a carrier puppet like Sasori-sensei's carrier. Sasuke was training with Kakashi, and learning his original jutsu. Kiba trained with his mother and sister to perfect his clan techniques. The three Sand siblings worked on their weapons of choice, preparing for the battles to come. Shino searched for new bugs to add to his colony, as well as produced other skills that were nothing short of amazing. Shikamaru tried to not work, but his excessively loud team mate forced him to do it, as she couldn't win, so she wanted him to win and go on as a Chunin in her place. Basically she wanted him to fight for her victory that she didn't get. Dosu didn't seem to do anything, but if you watched late at night, you would see that he was scouting out the place, preparing for something.

Naruto and Juugo had the most interesting training. Every day, Hawkeye would teach them some new elemental ability. He had found out that Naruto had affinities for two elements. Water and Wind. And wind was so extreme it wasn't funny. Juugo had learned he had an affinity for Earth. Hawkeye, somehow, had a huge store of all three elements' jutsu, and taught them well. Finally, after the entire month was done, the two Genin went into the village, prepared to fight and win in the Chunin finals.

They stood outside the stadium, hearing the roar of people from within. Naruto turned around and saw the rest of the finalists coming forward and standing with them. Then the gates opened, and the twelve finalists moved in to the stadium.

They stood there, watching the crowd make noise. Naruto heard distinctly the screeches of the fangirls of Sasuke. Naruto looked up to the Hokage booth and saw Sarutobi was sitting there watching the proceedings. Finally, the proctor, a new one, appeared. He said," I'm Shiranui Genma, and I'll be your proctor for the finals. Now, let's begin. The finals are done exactly as the preliminaries were done, in one-on-one matches. The final round is a three way battle between the three that made it through the first two rounds. Matches are over if I call them, or if you're incapacitated, run out of chakra and cannot go on, or killed. You will all respect my rulings on any matches. Anything goes. Now, the first match is Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto vs. Hyuuga Neji. Everyone else make your way to the fighters box over there." He pointed to the box set in the wall. The other ten moved away, and Naruto and Neji took up positions facing each other. Genma said," First match of the finals, Hajime."

He jumped away as the two moved. Naruto charged in and threw a punch, but Neji ducked under it and struck his arm twice, closing the tenketsu there. He dodged a kick from Naruto, and closed another two. He knew that Naruto was a puppeteer, and as such, had to use his arms to fight. He would close them, and Naruto would be defenseless.

Naruto jumped back, unrolling a scroll. Neji smirked and said," Your dolls can't help you. They need chakra to work, and I'll cut those strings and disable them. You are fated to lose to me, so just give up."

Naruto said," I don't buy into the whole fate crap. I'll show you. And you are wrong. There are three kinds of puppets in this world. One is the standard puppets, like you've seen me use. Another is the human puppets, which you have seen as well. Both of them have chakra strings that need to be used to cause action, and can be stopped by a user of the Gentle Fist. But I have another puppet that will put you down. I give you puppet number five." He added chakra to the seal, which smoked, before exploding. As the smoke cleared, Neji saw it. Naruto was nowhere to be seen, but a monster was where he had been. It was a Tanuki, at least seven feet tall, and had one massive tail in it's back. It seemed to be made of sand, and had a yellow, four-pointed star thing for eyes. Naruto's voice emanated from the creature," Shukaku, my personal carrier puppet. A puppet that doubles as armor. I control it all from the inside. So tell me, Hyuuga, how you plan on cutting the strings when they are within the puppet." The Tanuki stomped forward, and a single chakra string appeared on it's claw. Then it jumped forward, very fast. It swiped with the string, and Neji dodged. The string seemed to follow him, and he hit it, causing it to dissolve away from him. Then it was back. Neji was hard pressed to dodge the string. It seemed to change, into a string made of wind.

Up in the stands, Baki's single visible eye went wide. The boy had figured out a form of his Kaze no Yaiba, forming it into a string. Brilliant.

Naruto continued to press his advantage. Shukaku didn't have any organs or tenketsu, so he wasn't scared of Juken, and Neji lacked the destructive force to break through his armor. He smirked from within, knowing that the best Neji could do was continue to dodge and hope he gets tired. But chakra strings, being of such high manipulation, took very little chakra to maintain, just a lot of control. He could literally go all day if he wanted to. But he knew he had to end this soon. He pulled the tail up and launched it at him, hoping to impale Neji. Neji dodged, as Naruto knew he would. Several hundred senbon needles appeared in each little crevice in the tail, before launching at him. He dodged every needle, and Naruto smirked. He had moved into line.

The chakra string wrapped around him, and the tail reared back up to strike. Neji expelled chakra from every point in his body, and dodged aside as the tail tried to stab him again. The claws reached out and attempted to stab as well, but he began moving backwards, aiming to get some distance. He threw several kunai and shuriken, but Naruto let them clank off his armor. A marksman, Neji was not. Naruto smirked as he retracted the string into the puppet. Then he prepared for a special move he developed for this fight and the rest. He sent out a single string, and manipulated it to split into five. The five strings moved out and latched onto the ends of the five claws on the right hand, and another string did the same on the left. He sent out ten chakra strings before converting it into wind chakra. He smirked as he launched forward, the ten strings extending even further and creating a net of cutting force around Neji. Naruto said," Dodge this, Hyuuga." He tightened the net, aiming to cut Neji into pieces.

Neji knew it was time, and began spinning as he expelled chakra from every point. The spin plus the chakra, created the Kaiten. Naruto's strings were forced back, and he was blown away as well. He hit the wall, and his puppet began to crack. He grimaced, and popped the hatch. He climbed out and sealed Shukaku away. He stood at the other end of the arena from Neji, and said," I'll give you credit, that was a good hit. I didn't expect someone to be able to break part of my puppet with a technique of the Gentle fist. So I'm going to use something I promised myself I wouldn't until at least the second round. I've only used it a few times, so let's see what you can do against it." He began focusing chakra into the pattern he needed. Neji moved forward, going in for the kill before he could possibly finish it. As he moved within six feet of him, Naruto smirked, and the chakra disappeared completely. Neji stopped for one second, but that one minor hesitation was enough as Naruto screamed out," Akuma Kumi: Kumi Ni!"

He pointed at Neji, and a bright white line appeared from his finger. It hit Neji hard, forcing him back. Then he seemed to vanish. Everyone vanished from the stadium to Neji's eyes. He looked around, horrified. Then a storm picked up, and began throwing him around. He tried to maintain his balance and fight the winds and rain, but it was no good. He was pounded into trees and rocks. He almost fell into the lake at the north end of the arena, and all through this, bruises began to form on his body where he hit things. He screamed out in pain and rage, unable to overcome the wild force of nature. Then he hit a rock with his head, and knew only darkness.

When Neji was hit by the white light, he seemed to go slack, and then bruises appeared on his body, before he began screaming in pain and anger. Then he went silent, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, and he collapsed. Naruto went forward and pressed his finger to Neji's temple. He said," Akuma Kumi: Kumi Ni: Kai." He turned to the proctor and said," He's not going to be getting up. Call the match."

Genma checked him, declared him unconscious, and Naruto the winner. Everyone was shocked. Then people began to clap for him. Naruto stood there, soaking up the attention, positive for a change. He then turned and made his way off the arena floor. Neji was carted off by the medics to heal.

As Naruto got up to the fighters box, he looked at the stunned faces of his fellows. He went over to Juugo, and sat down to watch the next five matches.

Genma said," Now we will begin the second match. Inuzuka Kiba and Haruno Sakura, please come to the arena." Kiba and Sakura walked out the door and down the stairs. They reached the arena and took up positions on opposite sides.

In the box, Sasuke moved to Naruto and said," Dobe, where did you learn that?"

Naruto ignored him. Sasuke began to get angry, and screamed," Dobe, answer me!"

Naruto turned to him and said," Do you have an imaginary friend or something? I don't know anyone by that name."

Sasuke began to tremble with rage, then calmed himself down and said," Naruto," The word was spit out like it was poisonous," Tell me how you got that strength."

Naruto said," I don't think so. You can't use them, so it would be pointless to tell you."

Sasuke was getting angrier by the second, and his words with Naruto had caught the attention of the other six people in the box. He said," Tell me, I need that power to beat **him**."

Juugo spoke up," You won't be able to use them. So quit pestering us, we want to watch the match."

Sasuke was about to blow his top, but Naruto said," The Akuma Kumi is my Kekkei Genkai. They are a series of Genjutsu that only an Uzumaki can use, that simulate the nine circles of hell. What I hit Neji with was the second circle, which simulates being trapped and thrown around in a violent storm. He imagined that he was hitting the rocks and trees in the arena, and the illusion is so strong that the brain actually makes it real. The bruising he received was a result of his mind making the illusion real. Now shut up, I want to watch a fellow puppeteer work. If you don't leave me alone, I'll use the Akuma Kumi on you, and you won't like it."

Everyone shut up at that, and Naruto turned his attention to the match. It was already started. He smirked at her puppet. She was nowhere to be seen, but the puppet was visible.

Down in the arena, Genma had started the match, and jumped back. Sakura pulled out a scroll and unsealed her puppet. She tapped the side as the smoke covered her, and got in a moment later. Just like Naruto, as the smoke cleared, Kiba didn't see her, but the puppet. It was a tall black dog, with three heads.

On the roof above the stands, two missing nin watched the battle begin. Sasori smirked at Sakura's new puppet, knowing she had put in a lot of effort into making it.

Sakura said," You like it? This is my newest puppet, Cerberus." The dog jumped forward, swiping at him. He dodged, and did some hand seals before using his clan down on all fours technique. He then fed Akamaru a soldier pill and ate one himself, before Akamaru jumped up on him and he used his Man-beast clone. After the set up was done, he rushed forward with his dog before using his best move," Gatsuga!"

Sakura dodged the blows of the two twisting man-beasts, then launched several kunai from her puppet's left head's mouth. The right head launched a smoke bomb, covering everything around the dog in blackness. Kiba dodged the kunai, smelling the poison on them. He went on the offensive again," Gatsuga!" The two twisters went into the screen of smoke, and everyone got tense. Then he came flying out, scratches all over his body. A second later, the dog appeared from the dissipating smoke screen. The middle head opened it's mouth and launched a stream of fire at Kiba and Akamaru, burning both of them severely and causing Kiba to blank out.

Genma checked him, and then declared Sakura the winner. She marched up the stairs still in Cerberus. She came to the waiting area and plopped down before exiting her puppet and sealing it. Genma said," Uchiha Sasuke and Temari please come to the arena for match three."

The two named combatants jumped out of the waiting area and onto the ground with a slight bump. The two got into position, Sasuke in his standard stance, Temari removing her fan. Genma stared between the two, then said," Hajime."

Temari started by using some Fuuton jutsu and opening her fan in the same movement. Sasuke dodged, and launched a fireball at her, large enough to force her to stay and try to block it. She launched another blast of wind, then realized her mistake as the fire was flared to many times it's original size. She tried to block with her fan, and it was incinerated in a moment. She was thrown back by the power of the fireball, and burned severely. She was unconscious before she hit the wall.

Genma stared at her, and then declared Sasuke the winner. The crowd was in an uproar from the Uchiha's victory. Sasuke smirked and walked off. The medics ran back out, already tired from the constant injuries. Three matches, three ninja incapacitated. Genma said," Aburame Shino and Kankuro, come down for the fourth match."

Kankuro looked at Shino, then yelled down," Proctor, I forfeit."

Genma nodded, and Shino was declared the winner. Then he said," Alright, Nara Shikamaru and Gaara come down to the arena for the fifth match."

Shikamaru sighed, already shanghaied into participating by Ino, since she would never let him hear the end of it if he forfeited. Shikamaru and Gaara made their way down the steps to the floor. The crowd was getting antsy for more action. Shikamaru stood facing Gaara, and he said," Mother wants your blood."

Shikamaru sighed, looking at the clouds," Troublesome."

Genma said," Hajime."

He jumped back as Gaara's cork popped out of the gourd it was in. Sand poured out and formed around Gaara, who waved his hand almost carelessly at Shikamaru. The lazy genius moved as the sand struck. He dodged aside as the sand continued it's relentless assault. Then it withdrew as he began forming seals," Kage Mane no Jutsu." The jutsu launched at Gaara, in the form of his shadow. Gaara stood there, and waited. As the shadow came close, the sand whipped out and created multiple furrows in the ground on the line the shadow had to pass through. It lessened the shadow's distance, and it stopped right before it could latch on to his. The shadow strained, then flew back to Shikamaru. He said," Troublesome."

Gaara went on the offensive immediately, jumping forward and launching several shuriken made of sand at the genin. He dodged them and launched his jutsu again. This time there was no way to block it, and the shadow latched on. Gaara was forced into the same position as Shikamaru. But there was just one problem. As he was forced into it, Shikamaru grabbed a hidden kunai in his clothes, not his holster. He said," What will you do when you can't use your sands?" He threw the kunai, Gaara mimicking it perfectly. As the kunai flew at him, Gaara smirked. Shikamaru gaped as the sand appeared and blocked the kunai. Shikamaru said," How?"

Gaara smiled his insane smile and said," My sand acts independently of me. It is the perfect defense, and will never allow such an attack to work. Speed is the only way around it."

Shikamaru sighed, and the sand grabbed him. He was thrown into the wall, and was out like a light. Gaara looked at him, then sighed and left. He wouldn't prove his existence. Genma said," Winner, Gaara."

Gaara walked up to the fighter's box and sat down. Naruto came over and said," Thanks, Gaara."

Gaara nodded, and they heard the names of the last two combatants called. Dosu and Juugo jumped out of the window and down to the ground. The two watched the other warily. Dosu had heard of Juugo. He was a dangerous foe, and wasn't to be underestimated. He moved his sleeve up to reveal the melody arm. Juugo eyed it, uneasy. Who knew what it could do. He figured it had something to do with sound. After all, he was from the Sound village. Genma said," Hajime." And they were off.

Juugo moved forward at an impressive speed. Dosu tapped his finger to the arm, causing it to vibrate and sound to be produced. The sound was focused with his chakra and aimed at Juugo's ears. Juugo didn't seem to be affected by it. He hit Dosu hard, causing him to go flying back. Juugo kept up the assault, and within a few moments, Dosu was literally covered in bruises from the hits. He had at least six different broken bones, and he probably had a light concussion. Juugo snapped the melody arm off him and shattered it. Then he reared back and finished it with one defining punch. Dosu's head flew off, and his body fell to the ground. Juugo looked at the blood pooling, and began to hear the voice speak to him. He didn't see or hear Genma announce him the winner, he just stared at the headless body of the boy he had completely destroyed. He began shaking, but then felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Naruto. The two looked into the other's eyes, and then Juugo nodded, before turning away, at ease now.

Genma said," Now, the first match of the second round begins. Will Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto and Haruno Sakura please come to the arena."

Sakura jumped down and looked at Naruto, who hadn't moved. The two stared each other down, puppeteer to puppeteer. Naruto said," I'm going to prove that I'm the best when it comes to puppetry. I won't lose to you." He unsealed Kira and Jingo. He left them on the ground, and unsealed Titan, Suzumebachi, and Reaper too. Then he unsealed Shukaku and stepped into the puppet. As the puppet came to life, strings came out of it's claws, and connected to the five puppets on the ground. They all stood up, prepared for combat. Sakura gulped and unsealed Cerberus. She climbed into the puppet, and prepared as well. Genma stared at the two of them, then said," Hajime."

He jumped as far back as possible, as was the right thing to do. The two puppets clashed, the five standard puppets controlled by the carrier with the puppeteer inside. For the first few minutes, they clashed magnificently, and neither seemed to get the upper hand. Then Sakura used the tail of the dog puppet to cut a string, disabling Jingo. Naruto was shocked, and it was too late for him to correct as flames erupted from not only the middle head, but the other two as well. The flames licked at the puppets, incinerating Kira and Jingo and leaving the others too damaged to move, including Shukaku. But at the last moment, Titan made it's move, and a spike of earth shot up from the ground into the belly of the dog puppet. Naruto exited the puppet and waited. Shortly, the other puppeteer got out too. She looked at him, and said," So, our regular puppets are no good now, so what say we unleash the big guns."

Naruto smiled and made some hand seals, aiming to finish the match now. He finished and yelled out," Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu." A huge fireball came at her, and she used a Doton jutsu to get out of the way. Then she attempted to drag him under. Naruto jumped away from her hands as she emerged. She unrolled a scroll, and he smiled. It was show time. He rolled up his sleeve as she applied chakra to her scroll and unsealed it's contents. He pressed his finger to a tattoo and unsealed the puppet within at the same time. The two columns of smoke shot up into the sky as they connected chakra strings. The smoke cleared from Sakura first, who smirked when she realized he had to be using that Haku person. But as the smoke cleared from him as well, she saw something completely unexpected.

Naruto smirked at her dumbfounded expression, and said," Meet my best, to counter your Raikage. I give you: Hanzo."

The stadium went into an uproar as the spectators saw two very famous shinobi turned into puppets. Up above, Sasori sighed, and said," The girl might be a genius when it comes to learning the art, but she had no appreciation of not revealing your best so soon."

Deidara said," But what about that kid? He's using the former leader of Rain, the man who gave the Sannin their name."

Sasori grumbled, mad at the two novice puppeteers.

Naruto smirked and said," So, shall we begin the real battle?"

Sakura nodded, and moved. The Raikage made hand seals and formed electricity around both of his hands. Naruto forced Hanzo to move and block the strike. As the two powerhouse puppets faced off, the crowd grew quiet, amazed by the battle. Jutsu flew around like candy at a parade, and blow for blow the two puppets gave as good as they got. Then Hanzo took it up a notch by creating two dragons, a fire and water one. The two entwined around each other, and formed an even bigger dragon, this one made of steam. The steam dragon roared at Sakura and her Raikage. The Raikage answered by forming a giant bird of lightning, which struck the steam dragon. The two elemental animals vied for supremacy, but in the end, they canceled each other out and they dissipated. Naruto smirked and said," Impressive. I didn't think that anyone could beat that combo dragon. Good work."

Sakura smirked and said," Just give it up, boy. You can't win."

Naruto smirked and said," Oh, really now? Let's see what you can do, doll girl."

She almost screamed at him, but held it in at the last moment. She instead had the Raikage prepare another jutsu. She smirked as what appeared to be pillars of lightning appeared in front of him, then was thrown at Hanzo. He made seals and produced a thick barrier of earth. The lightning almost drilled through anyway, but it ended before the wall fell. Hanzo made the wall crumble and the earth flew at Sakura, who dodged and made her Raikage use his next jutsu. The jutsu called down a strike of lightning on the Raikage himself, and enveloped him in electricity. This electricity was forced to form around his hand, creating a blade of pure white lightning. Naruto gaped, and Sakura smirked," This is the Raikage's ultimate jutsu. This will be the last blow one way or the other. I don't have the energy to continue feeding him chakra, and I doubt that you do either. Let's make this a true puppeteers ending."

Naruto smirked as Hanzo used his best jutsu. It formed a thick armor made of ice to form around him, and he said," This is Hanzo's last move. I doubt that when I win, I'll have the strength to use him again for a while. I'll make it worthy of this showdown."

The two puppeteers stared each other down, and then began moving towards each other at the same moment. As they neared each other, they called out the names of their puppets' ultimate jutsu.

"Raigeki Blade!"

"Ice Splinter!"

The two attacks collided, and the resulting explosion blurred both from view. As the two jutsu battled for dominance, the point their attacks met became unstable. These two jutsu focused an intense amount of power onto a very small point, causing huge waves of power, and it was unstable now. The two attacks broke free of their constraints, causing a massive backlash. The two fighters were blown back and into the walls on opposite sides of the arena. Genma looked at the two. The two puppets were severely damaged, and would probably need to be fixed before they could be used again, and the puppeteers weren't in much better shape. Then Naruto began to move. He stood up, staggering like crazy. He sealed up Hanzo, and then walked over to Sakura, taking several minutes to cross the distance. As he moved towards her, she began stirring. The crowd was tense as they saw he was covered in burns and had shards of ice sticking out of him, as did Sakura. The attacks had bounced over to two puppets miraculously and did the most damage to the two puppeteers instead. Naruto stood over Sakura as she became aware of him. She looked at him with cold eyes, and Naruto felt a small bit of pity. He said," You lose." He then proceeded to punch her in the stomach, causing her to double over as blood poured out of her mouth. Naruto staggered away, and held up a hand in the air as she fell to the ground, out cold. Genma said," Winner, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto."

The cheering of the crowd fell upon deaf ears as Naruto staggered back into the fighters' box. He sat down on the bench, and looked at the remaining members of the actual fighters. Sasuke was awed by his performance. Gaara was indifferent, but if you looked very closely you could see that he had been happy to see a puppet of his demon used by his best friend. Shino couldn't be read, and Juugo was happy for him that he won.

Genma cleared his throat and said," The exam will be stopped for a few minutes to fix the arena up. We ask for your patience."

He stepped away as several Doton specialists worked on fixing the arena so that the battles would be fought on somewhat even ground. Even those truly gifted specialists couldn't fix some of the damage caused by the two puppets. After about ten minutes, the arena looked usable again. Sakura had been carted off to heal and her puppet with her. Genma said," Now, let the second match of the semi-finals begin. Aburame Shino and Uchiha Sasuke come down for your match."

The two disappeared and reappeared on the arena floor. The two looked at each other, and Genma said," ready?" Getting nods from both, he said," Hajime."

Sasuke waited, knowing how to fight this enemy. Kakashi had drilled tactics for each of the possible enemies into his head. The only unknown was Juugo, because he had never seen him fight before today.

Shino grew tired of waiting and sent a swarm of bugs at Sasuke. The Uchiha dodged aside of the first sweep, and then the second. Shino added more bugs to the mix as Sasuke continued to dodge. He had used at least half his colony now.

Sasuke waited until the two swarms had formed into one big one, then in one fell swoop, finished it. He did some quick hand seals and yelled," Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

The enormous fireball shot out and incinerated the bugs. Sasuke turned and bolted at Shino and caught him in a quick combo that knocked him out and won Sasuke the match.

The crowd roared it approval of the Uchiha.

Shino was carted off as well, and Sasuke returned to the stands, waiting for the finals. He looked at Naruto, and felt happy. He would find out how he got strong. He would find out, and he would take that power for himself. It was inevitable.

Gaara and Juugo moved to the arena floor when they realized that the other wasn't going to quit now. Genma smiled at their enthusiasm. He said," Hajime." and the fight was on.

Juugo went on the offensive almost immediately, striking as quickly as he could. The sand blocked all of his efforts, and then turned to the attack. Juugo dodged aside and jumped to gain some distance. At the apex of his jump, he made hand seals and used a jutsu to form several spears of earth, which attempted to spear Gaara. The sand blocked that as well. More seals followed as Juugo attempted any trick he knew to get in Gaara's guard. But it was futile. Gaara stood there, his sand doing all the attacking, and defending too. Finally, Juugo came to a realization. He couldn't win. None of his moves had the ability to be fast enough to get inside the guard of the sand, and even then, he had to contend with the layer of sand right on top of Gaara. He ended up next to the proctor, and said," Proctor, I forfeit."

The sand continued to attack as Genma said," Juugo forfeits. Winner, Gaara." The sand finally fell silent and returned to the gourd. He waited for the final match right there on the arena floor. Genma said," As soon as the other two finalist are here, the match will begin."

Naruto and Sasuke jumped down. Naruto seemed perfectly healthy now. He unsealed his one undamaged puppet, Haku. He said," This is going to be fun, right Gaara?"

Gaara gave him a tight smile," Indeed."

Sasuke looked between the two, deciding which one was the bigger threat.

Genma said," Ready?" He got three short nods in acknowledgment. He said," Hajime."

The three shinobi started their battle in but an instant. In seconds, each was using their best moves. Sasuke was using his superior speed and Taijutsu, lifted off of Lee during their unofficial match before the first exam and honed by Kakashi during the month of training. Naruto had Haku using his ice to freeze any sand that came at him. He also had ice needles chasing Sasuke, hoping to impale him and really give him a stick up the ass. Gaara had his sand assaulting both of them at once, and didn't seem to be tiring. The three battled for several minutes before Gaara kicked it up a notch when he said," Suna Shuriken." And launched several masses of sand at Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke dodged and jumped onto the wall they were close to. Naruto watched, as did Gaara, as he did several hand seals ending with him holding his right arm by the wrist with his left hand. The right hand began to crackle with lightning, and the sound of birds chirping reached their ears. He ran down the wall faster than most could follow easily, and launched at Gaara and Naruto, aiming to take them both out in one move. He yelled out," CHIDORI!"

Naruto smirked as he used wind and water chakra to create ice, which stopped the assault of lightning in it's tracks. The ice covered Sasuke's arm and froze it in position. His arm was inches from Gaara's heart.

Before the battle could continue, feathers began floating on the air. Naruto knew what it was, and made the seals before saying," Kai."

Sasuke and Gaara did the same, as did several others. Even Sakura, who had been patched up and fed a soldier pill, was out in the Genjutsu's range. She dispelled it quickly. Naruto looked around at his friends and allies, knowing that something very bad was happening. As he watched, the Kazekage grabbed the Hokage and took him up to the roof of the building. His four guards flew out of their cloaks and formed a barrier around the two kages. Then several holes appeared on the outer walls of Konoha, made by huge serpents. And last hundreds of Suna and Oto ninja appeared, weapons ready. Naruto smirked and said," So, I guess I do get a chance to use it."

He pulled out his heavy duty sealing scroll. He unrolled it and revealed the seal. Then he flooded it with chakra, creating a massive cloud of smoke.

With the Hokage and Kazekage, the newly revealed Orochimaru, the two of them watched in fascination as the smoke spiraled upwards. Sarutobi said," Naruto, what have you made now."

The shinobi, invaders and defenders alike, looked at the cloud of smoke made by the genin.

Above them on the roofs, Deidara and Sasori watched too.

Every eye in Konoha was watching as the biggest puppet to ever by made appeared. Bigger than the stadium almost, it had red fur covering every inch of it. Diabolic red eyes with slits for pupils were seen on a pointed face, a face that poured off vileness and evil in waves. Nine red tails flowed in the breeze.

Upon the head of the puppet, Naruto made a seal and yelled," Kage Bushin no Jutsu." As he made nine clones, they separated, going to the parts assigned to them. Chakra strings shot out in every direction, every single finger manipulating five strings with Naruto's technique. Five hundred strings attacked to the massive puppet, and it came alive, giving a massive roar that shook the stadium and surrounding village.

Sarutobi smiled at the sight. Once it very nearly destroyed this village, now it would protect it.

The genin looked in awe of the puppet, a mastery of form and skill.

Those old enough to know the truth smiled at the irony of it all.

The invaders began to tremble in their boots, knowing they were screwed.

Upon the head of the red nine-tailed fox, the original Naruto said," Ladies and invaders, I give you my first siege puppet. I give you puppet number nine, Kyuubi no Kitsune!"

-0-0-

So, who liked this chapter. I did the best I could with the fight scenes, and I think I did them justice. I only hope you all like the twist at the end. Yes, his project was a life-sized Kyuubi puppet. I've seen Kyuubi as a doll(Naruto the Black Mage, a very funny story, you should definitely read it), and I've seen where he makes a smaller version of Kyuubi as a carrier puppet. But never have I seen one where he makes a life-sized puppet designed after the Kyuubi. I've been wanting to reveal this puppet ever since I got the idea. So, what do you think? Did I go overboard with it? I don't think so, but please tell me your opinions.

Now, in the next chapter, we have the invasion. A warning, I will be killing off Sandaime. And I will be also doing something that I've only seen a few times. When I get the next chapter out, you'll know what I mean. Peace.


	9. Invasion and Banishment

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Don't sue me.

Alright, here is chapter nine. In this, the invasion kicks off, and Naruto uses his Kyuubi puppet for it's intended purpose. Please note that there will be a lot of skipping around in this chapter, from fight to fight. But try to keep up. Oh, and the poll on which ninja should be a puppet has been closed. The winner is Kisame, with sixteen votes. I'll put him in soon, but he won't become a puppet until later. Now, let's get it on. Chapter nine, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

-0-0-

The invaders and the defenders all looked at Naruto and his puppet in shock, then one of the massive tails swept out and demolished one of the snake summons. That caught everyone's attention, and they began to fight again.

Naruto looked at the various snakes that had appeared. He smirked, and communicated with his clones, telling them to move the puppet to the closest of the snakes, the ones at the main gate. With a mighty leap, the giant fox was in front of the snakes. They attempted to bite the fox, but it's wooden and metal construct made it nigh impossible to stop physically, due to it's size.

Naruto pulled several strings, and the mouth of the fox launched forward, grabbing onto one of the snakes by the neck. It began squeezing, causing damage to the summon. But it was no good, and the snake got free in a moment. The snake whipped it's tail, hitting the side of the puppet, causing it to stumble. The snakes began to attack in unison, hoping to knock it over. Naruto combated it by snapping several of the tails at the attacking serpents, catching them unawares. One of the snakes was completely shredded by the tail. Naruto smirked as the clones made the tails razor sharp with their chakra. He had the paws stab one of the snakes, and the incredible metal that made up the claws stabbed deep into the snake. The puppet then opened it's mouth and launched a blast of wind at the snakes, scattering them across Konoha. Kyuubi jumped and did a flip in mid air, it's nine tails coming down on another snake, completely destroying it's head and most of it's body. Naruto smirked again, knowing that none could top his Kyuubi in pure destructive power. He made a tenth clone, and gave it control of his area. He jumped down onto the rooftops as Kyuubi ran off after the remaining summons. He turned to see a group of four Suna ninja approaching. Naruto sighed and said," I wouldn't attack Suna nin, but you leave me no choice." He pointed his finger and said," Akuma Kumi: Kumi Yon!" The beam hit the group, and they all stopped as the illusion took hold. Naruto took out a soldier pill and swallowed it. He knew that there was more to come.

Sarutobi was fighting for his life as the old man fought off his former student. Then Orochimaru brought up the stakes by using his Edo Tensei technique. As the three coffins began to rise, several kunai and shuriken pelted the last one, which sunk back into the ground. Hawkeye appeared before the two ninja and said," Sorry I'm late, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi nodded and said," If you keep one of the old Hokage off me, I'll handle the other and Orochimaru." He knew that Hawkeye was more powerful than most, and could easily handle one of the former Hokage. But to ask him to fight against both would be far too much, even for him.

Hawkeye nodded at him and said," I can handle that. I'll take the Nidaime if it's all the same to you."

Sarutobi nodded, but didn't answer verbally as Orochimaru pulled out two kunai with strange tags on them. He inserted them into the heads of the two deceased Hokage, who immediately changed their posture. Their eyes glazed over, and the two jumped into action, aiming to destroy Sarutobi and Hawkeye.

The Nidaime moved towards Hawkeye making handseals and launched a high powered blast of water at him. Hawkeye dodged and launched several kunai at him. They embedded, but didn't slow down the deceased Hokage. He got closer to Hawkeye, who jumped back. Water jutsu was thrown around like candy for several minutes. Meanwhile, the Shodaime and Sarutobi was fighting hard too. Jutsu was launched quickly, and Sarutobi did his best to dodge all of the wood that kept trying to kill him. Orochimaru was fighting too, attempting to cut Sarutobi in half with his sword. The five combatants weren't doing any true damage, but Sarutobi and Hawkeye were beginning to slow down.

In the arena, Gai and Kakashi were fighting off waves of Sand and Sound ninja. But they were steadily pushed back. Then a huge tail landed on half the opposing ninja, crushing them mercilessly. They looked up to see that the Kyuubi puppet was now over the stadium. Then it jumped, going for one of the few snakes left. The puppet landed and began striking the snakes with it's tails, gutting two snakes before they could move.

On the ground, heading towards the stadium, Naruto was leaving piles of dead and wounded shinobi and kunoichi in his wake. Then he stopped, as he felt the presences. Sasori and Deidara were coming, as were Sakura and Sai. The four appeared around him, and he looked at them. He said," I know you're pissed at me, Sakura-san, but really, to try to strike when we're in a war? That's just low."

Sakura said," You don't know what you're talking about. I have my orders, and I will complete them."

Naruto sighed and rolled up his sleeve to reveal the kanji for 'king'. Sakura said," Hanzo, right? He's broken, remember?" Naruto ignored her and channeled chakra into the seal. In a puff of smoke, Hanzo was revealed, completely fine. The four ninja looked at him, and Sai said," How? I know that you damaged him in the semi-finals."

Naruto smiled and said," I have some rather unique tricks up my sleeve. One is every seal I have made to hold my puppets has a rather unique attribute to them. They are storage/repair seals. Basically, there is a pocket dimension where stored items go, and the seal also sends in a group of Kage Bushin to fix up anything in there that is damaged. All my puppets are back to full efficiency. Now, let's begin."

Deidara and Sai jumped away, getting some room to attack, as Sasori and Sakura attacked, Sasori with his carrier puppet he is always in and Sakura with her only normal puppet. Naruto sent Hanzo to attack. He also rolled up his other sleeve and unsealed Haku. He began weaving a complex net of water jutsu with Hanzo. Then he froze the water with Haku, creating a web of chakra-hardened ice that would take severe effort to break. But it also served the point to freeze Sasori in place. He smirked as he bit his thumb and went through some hand seals. He smiled as he yelled," Kuchinose no Jutsu."

As the smoke appeared, blocking him from view, Deidara and Sai threw their clay bombs and detonated them in the cloud, hoping to get a lucky shot in. As the smoke cleared, they saw that Naruto was wrapped up protectively by a large reptile. Then it unrolled, and Naruto reconnected the strings to Hanzo and Haku. The salamander said," Naruto-san, what would you have me do?"

Naruto smirked as he said," I want you to defeat those two that are farther away, on the clay birds. They use clay as explosives, so be careful Hiziri-san."

The salamander nodded, and launched towards Deidara and Sai. Naruto launched Hanzo towards Sasori, who was doing his level best to get free. Haku blocked the assault from Sakura's puppet, Hirashi. He launched several senbon made of ice from Haku, but Sakura dodged them. Then there was a horrible rending sound as Hanzo struck Hiruko and shattered his body. Sasori stepped out of the broken puppet, before unsealing one of his other puppets. He said," Sakura, step back. This is beyond you now. Go help Sai and Deidara with the lizard." He connected the strings to the Sandaime Kazekage.

Sakura nodded, knowing that her master was pissed now. She disappeared and began to attack the salamander at range. With Naruto and Sasori, the two puppeteers were looking at each other, sizing up the opposition. Then at an unspoken signal, they began moving. Hanzo launched poisoned senbon from his mouth at Sasori, but the puppet blocked them and countered with a spear made of iron sand. Hanzo dodged aside and sent a blast of water at the puppet, knowing it would defend Sasori at all costs. The water did little damage, merely getting it wet a little. For a few minutes, the two of them traded jutsu and poisoned weapons, aiming to disable the puppet and kill it's user. But for some reason, Naruto had stuck to water jutsu, getting the ground and the puppet soaked in the process. Then the iron sand struck, seeping into the small crevices in the puppet, slowing it's movement and then with a vicious wrench, completely destroying it's limbs. Naruto fell back as Hanzo was destroyed, and felt himself growing cold as the Kazekage and Sasori walked towards him. As he moved closer, Sasori felt something off. Then he saw it, the smallest of twitches from Naruto's finger. He jumped back as Haku came back to life and froze all the water that had gotten on him and his puppet. The Kazekage was completely frozen from head to foot, even the iron sand was frozen. Sasori had escaped thanks to his quick actions, but he still had an arm and leg frozen. He disconnected the chakra strings, moving away from Haku and Naruto. Then Deidara and their apprentices appeared, battered and beaten too. The salamander had proven to be a most dangerous foe, and he wasn't even the boss summon. Deidara asked," Can I get him, yeah?"

Before Sasori could answer, a huge red foot appeared between Naruto and the four of them. They looked up to see the siege puppet, Kyuubi no Kitsune, standing over them like a visage of death. Sasori said," No. Let's get out of here." Deidara nodded, grabbed his shoulder, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke as Sai and Sakura also disappeared.

Naruto looked around, the battle seemed to be winding down. He went over to the shattered remains of Hanzo, and took stock of the damage. It was far to extensive for him to use his sealing/repair seal. He would have to personally fix up the puppet. He sighed, and then looked at the frozen form of the Kazekage. He wondered briefly if he should return the man to his home village to be buried properly, but decided against it. He would keep this puppet, and use it against Sasori when he met up with him again. He smiled as he made Haku melt the ice, already planning his next puppet.

In the battle of the kages, Sarutobi was doing well as can be expected, and Hawkeye was doing his level best. He just couldn't keep the Nidaime down. He launched a series of senbon at the deceased Hokage, but it did nothing. He moved away in a yellow flash as a gush of water exited the Hokage. He reappeared next to Sarutobi just as the entire place grew dark, enclosed in shadows. He saw the seals the old Hokage was making, as were his two clones, and knew it was time. He said," Say hello to Minato for me Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi nodded, and finished the seals, causing the Death God to appear. His two clones ran and grabbed the two souls of the former Hokage, and with a mighty pull, the two souls were taken into the Shinigami. As the darkness lifted, Sarutobi moved forward. He grabbed the Snake Sannin and held him tight as the arm of the Death God came forward and grabbed Orochimaru. Orochimaru said," What are you doing?"

Sarutobi smiled slightly and said," This is one of the most dangerous jutsu a man can use. It calls down the Shinigami to take the soul of target."

Orochimaru's eyes widened, and he lifted two fingers and flexed them, causing his sword to rise. Hawkeye moved towards it, but was too slow, and it stabbed through the Sandaime's heart. Enma, the Monkey King, grabbed the hilt to hold it back from truly killing the old man. Orochimaru said," Why didn't you dodge it you senile old man?"

The Hokage coughed up blood and said," This jutsu is forbidden for a reason. The last time it was used was twelve years ago, during the Kyuubi attack. It takes the highest price a person can give. It costs the summoner of the Shinigami his life to use it. There is no reason for me to dodge it, because I'm already dead."

For the next few minutes, it was a stalemate as the two battled with their wills to overcome their opponent. Hawkeye stood by and watched as the two powerful fighters tried to kill the other. Finally, Sarutobi said," So, my old body is too weak for this. Rejoice Orochimaru, I can't take your soul completely. But I will take something from you, the power to use Jutsu." Orochimaru watched in horrid fascination as the Death God lifted up the spectral knife and cut off the arms of his soul. The Snake Sannin gave an ungodly howl as his arms blackened and fell limply. With a grunt, Enma pulled out the sword from his summoner's chest. Orochimaru fell to the ground as Sarutobi's soul was pulled out from it's shell and consumed by the Shinigami. Then the Sandaime Hokage, the Professor Sarutobi, fell to the ground, dead.

Orochimaru began screaming in rage and pain as his four guardians dropped the barrier and ran for him. They grabbed him, or three did. Tayuya had to run right by Hawkeye to reach her master, and he struck quickly, knocking her back towards the ANBU who attempted to subdue her. Sakon, the leader of the group, yelled," Leave her. Get Lord Orochimaru out." The three members of the Sound Four bolted with their leader, leaving Tayuya to her fate.

All over Konoha, the Sound nin ran away, getting as far as possible. Several were killed before they got very far, but most escaped back to their home village.

With their allies gone, and their secret weapon refusing to fight, the remaining Sand nin gave up, and surrendered to Konoha.

On top of the building where Sarutobi fought his former student and two deceased Hokage, Tayuya had broken free of the ANBU attempting to subdue her. She prepared to bolt, but before she could, Hawkeye was on her. He punched her in the face and she fell back. She looked up to see the one visible eye of the man glaring with hatred at her. He said," Revenge is usually beneath me, but I'm going to make an exception. Your master killed our Hokage, and for that, you will die." He pulled out a kunai with three prongs and prepared for his next fight. Tired though he was, he knew he was going to fight this girl and destroy her. He launched the kunai at her, and disappeared in a yellow flash.

With Naruto, he walked towards the stadium to see what had happened. But he was stopped when he saw a man, a giant really, attacking one of the Jounin senseis of the 'Rookie nine' as they were called. He wasn't counted in the group, but Sai was for some reason. He thought back and remembered that she was the sensei of team eight, Yuuhi Kurenai. The man was doing his best to kill her, swinging a massive sword at her. She was dodging as best she could, but he could see that she was tired and weakened by the fighting she had to have done already. He ran towards her and her attacker, barreling forward and striking the chest of the giant. He fell back slightly as Naruto unsealed Haku. He launched a blast of ice needles at the man, who dodged aside. He looked at Naruto, and said," So, the Namikaze has returned. Your puppets are very good."

Naruto said," Who're you? You're not with the invaders, that much is clear."

The man laughed and said," Indeed. I am Sashi'rigan. I wanted to fight you, boy. Now, show me your skill."

He launched forward and swung his sword. Naruto dodged aside and launched Haku forward, forming a sword made of ice with his power. Kurenai looked on in awe as Naruto battled with the man, who was way out of his league. Hell, she was having trouble, and Naruto, despite being powerful, was still a Genin. The man was fast, much faster than any would give him credit for due to his size. He was also strong, far stronger than most could easily match. Gai might be able to, but no one else would.

Naruto dodged aside as the sword attempted to cleave him in half. The man's Kenjutsu was amazing, despite most of the strikes embedding the sword into the ground, the man merely ripped it back out, arcing the blade around in a circle to do it again. He was truly frightening. Naruto had already lost Haku, and none of his other puppets but Hanzo and his newly gotten Sandaime Kazekage would stand a chance against this foe. The Sandaime was out, because he had no idea how to work with it, and Hanzo was in pieces. He was on his own. Finally he came to a conclusion, and prepared for a high powered Akuma Kumi. He pointed at Sashi'rigan and yelled out," Akuma Kumi: Kumi Go!"

The powerful jutsu rushed at the giant of a man, and hit him directly between the eyes. He fell back, and Naruto said," He'll break out of it in a few seconds. Come on." He grabbed Kurenai's hand and ran for it. Not even four seconds later, he heard the man yell as he broke the jutsu. He pulled Kurenai into an alley and hid behind some crates. He dampened his chakra signature, and the giant man ran right by chasing the shadow clone he had made. Naruto smirked as he saw that. Then he realized that he had pressed his face up towards Kurenai's chest when he had forced them into the small space afforded by the crates. He pulled back, blushing profusely. He also knocked over the crates, and started apologizing to her as he backed away. She smiled and said," It's alright. You saved my life, so I won't hurt you. But don't get any ideas."

He nodded, and they moved out of the alley. Naruto looked around, memorizing the placement. He vowed to never return to that alley, ever. Every citizen of Konoha could be chasing him, he would not go back into that alley. He nodded to Kurenai and disappeared in a blur, going his own way. He never noticed the blush that had crept onto the woman's face since he had realized what his face was pressed into.

Hawkeye and Tayuya were both getting tired. He had sent out most of his projectiles, and his reserves were dwindling. As the battle came to it's grand conclusion, or so he believed, he said," Girl, I admit that you are a lot more powerful than most. You could probably take on these ANBU and at least escape. But I am not like the ANBU. I am Hawkeye, the Targeter of Konoha. This will be my last move. Prepare yourself." He focused chakra into his hand. But something was strange. He wasn't drawing chakra from his own body, but from the surrounding area. Every single person stopped their battles(the ANBU were fighting some sound nin that were trapped) and watched as an orb appeared in his hand. It was pure white in color, and had flashes of all sorts of color in it as well. Hawkeye reared back and said," This is one of three abilities I have that has nothing to do with my marksman status. Feel honored, for only one of the strongest individuals get to see these moves." The orb suddenly lost it's shape, and he knew it was time. He threw the orb with all his might at the girl, and she instinctively knew that if it hit her in her current state, she would die without a shadow of a doubt. She forced the seal on her neck to activate, bypassing level one and going straight to level two automatically. But this put a huge strain on her body as the forces of level two pressed on her weakened form. Then the orb hit and Hawkeye yelled out to the heavens," ELEMENT BOMB!"

The explosion rocked the building they were on, and blew apart the closest area to the blast. Then it faded, and he saw that Tayuya was still alive. Her body was burned, frozen, and torn apart, but she was still breathing. Hawkeye smiled as he collapsed. Then she fell down too.

The ANBU had dispatched their few opponents while the bomb had the attention of everyone. They gathered around the fallen Jounin and his opponent. As one ANBU pulled out his ninja-to to kill Tayuya, Naruto appeared and said," No, don't do it."

The ANBU looked at the Genin, and the one holding his ninja-to said," Why should we. She's an enemy."

Naruto smiled and said," She's also one of Orochimaru's personal guards. Put her in jail, and interrogate her. You of all Shinobi should know this, ANBU-san."

The ANBU actually looked sheepish when it was pointed out to him. He nodded, and the ANBU group picked up Tayuya and moved off with her towards the holding cells. One ANBU remained, and watched as Naruto picked up his sensei and moved off.

It was three days later that Hawkeye reawakened, and when he did, he shot up like he had been shocked. He looked around, and saw that his three students were in the hospital room he was apparently assigned. He said," What happened?"

Haltingly, with many switches between the three of them as they went, the three Genin had told him what happened to them during the invasion and after it. Hikari and Juugo were pretty standard for powerful genin, helped evacuate the civilians and children to the shelters and helped in the counter-offensive. Naruto told him of his fight with the two nuke-nin and their apprentices. Hawkeye nodded when he explained that Hanzo was destroyed almost beyond repair, but he got the Sandaime Kazekage as the battle ended. He told him about saving Kurenai from the strange man with the massive sword. Hawkeye stopped moving when he mentioned that, and Naruto asked," What's wrong Hawkeye-sensei?"

Hawkeye pulled the bandages off his eye, since his hat had been removed. He said," This eye wasn't born like this, as you know. The man who killed my father gave me this wound. That man was Sashi'rigan. You fought against the man that I want to kill beyond anyone else."

For a moment, the three genin were silent, then Naruto said," Well, since the battle was over, I've been fixing Hanzo and using my clones to help with the reconstruction. And the Sandaime has be put into cold storage until his will can be read. When you get out of the hospital, then we can go to that. You and me both got something from him."

Hawkeye nodded, and pressed the button to call a nurse as he got his clothes and hat. He placed the hat on his head at an angle and said," I'll see if I can get out of here. Hopefully by the end of the day we can have the will read." The nurse came in and saw him up and about. She checked and pronounced him healthy, saying that he could leave at any time. He gathered up his weapons and sealed them into various tattoos and scrolls. Then he said," Let's go."

In Oto, Orochimaru looked at the prone form of Kabuto, and hissed," Get out of my sight. Tell Karin that she is now my personal medic and send her here."

Kabuto nodded and turned. As he opened the door, he heard Orochimaru say," Sakon, when he is alone, kill him." He left the room and considered his options as he moved towards Karin's lab. He considered running and returning to his original master, Sasori. But he would be killed for losing his position inside Orochimaru's organization. He couldn't stay here, because of the obvious reasons. He also didn't want to just run off on his own. He would be hunted by the hunter-nin of Konoha, and of Oto. And When Sasori found out that he was betraying him, he would hunt him down, or send one of his other subordinates to do it. Then he realized what he needed to do.

He gave Karin her message, then turned towards the exit to the underground complex. He didn't have anything to take with him, and he knew he couldn't afford to tarry. He made it out of the complex and went into the surrounding forest. He had a mission to do. The mission, find Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto and join up with him.

Naruto and Hawkeye moved down the streets of Konoha, and headed towards the Hokage tower. Haku walked beside them, or so it appeared. Only a true observer could see that Naruto's hand twitched with every move Haku made. They entered the tower, nodding to the two ANBU along the way. The secretary nodded to them as they entered the inner office of the Hokage.

When the door closed, the two shinobi looked to see that the entire council was gathered there. Hawkeye noticed the lack of any shinobi that could be counted as a friend of Naruto, and the majority of his enemies had sick grins on their faces. He knew something was wrong.

One of the former team mates of the Hokage said," Good you're here. We can begin the will reading." He pulled out a sheet of paper and began reading from it," This is the last will and testament of Sarutobi Sasuke, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha. I hereby annul any other wills made before this will, written on the third of may in the year of the dragon.

I hereby leave all my worldly possessions to my son, Asuma, and my grandson Konohamaru. May they use their inheritances well.

I leave my set of Hiraishin kunai to Hawkeye, sensei of Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, Juugo, and Hikari. He is to hold them until Naruto has found the information on the Hiraishin left to him by his father, and then give them to him.

To my favorite shinobi, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, I leave two things. One is the notes left to my by Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, on the Shiki Fuin no Jutsu. The other is my body, to make into a puppet. I hope you continue to use it in the defense of Konoha.

Finally, it is my wish that if I get into the grave so to speak before her, that my student Tsunade is made the Godaime Hokage."

The old man reading placed the sheet of paper onto the desk and looked at the room, which was silent. Then Naruto said," When can I get the items left to me?"

As he predicted, it caused an uproar when he said that. Danzo snarled at him," You will not be getting the body of our Hokage. It is inconceivable that we would let you deny him a proper burial."

Naruto looked at Danzo, and said," Why would you care? It's common knowledge that you and Sarutobi hated each other. You wanted his job, and still do."

Danzo was about to snarl at him, but the team mate of the Third that had read the will said," Enough. You will not be getting the body, Uzumaki. And you will not be getting the notes. It is the will of the Council that you be banished."

There was absolute silence from Naruto and Hawkeye when that was said. Naruto slowly pulled off his headband and placed it on the desk, turned to his sensei and said," Please make sure that Umino Iruka gets that back. It was his long before it was mine." He turned to the council, most of who were smirking in triumph that he was finally going to be out of their hair, and said," I will leave. But I will get the body of my grandfather before that happens. I don't care if I have to dig him out of the earth to do so, the Sandaime's will will be executed. I'll be gone by morning. Don't bother trying to find me, or any of my father's jutsu scrolls. The Namikaze estate will only open to my blood now, and no one will be able to enter it." He turned and left the room, leaving behind a shocked council. At the door, he turned and said," Pray to whatever gods you believe in that those I count as precious never leave this place. Because if they do, the Kyuubi will return to finish what it started. But this time it will be with a rider, a master to control it and direct it. And if you imprison any of my precious people, I will return with even more powerful puppets and level this village to the ground to get to them." He walked out and slammed the door behind him.

-0-0-

How did you like this? I know the actual invasion wasn't that long, but I'm no good with huge fights like that. One on one action I can do, or other small stuff, but a citywide siege is beyond me. Anyway, I have some things I need to say. One is, this chapter is shorter than my usual work. This is because I've been having trouble writing lately. I just can't seem to get into the mood to write. I got this out at last, but it's lacking in my opinion. Anyway, another thing is that I'm going to make another poll. This is about the fate of Tayuya. She will live, but there are a couple things that can happen to her. They will be described in the poll as soon as I get it up. Now, the next chapter will be the epilogue. Don't worry, the story is far from finished, but the next chapter will detail Naruto's leaving the village, and will be rather short. It is the epilogue of part one, which I call Konoha's Puppeteer. Part two will be out shortly I hope. I might take some time to finish up my other story before I start on part two, so if I don't put out the next part any time soon, that's why more than likely. Now, in the next chapter, we finally get to meet Jiraiya, who convinces Naruto to join him on a little side mission of getting Tsunade. He will know that Naruto has been banished, but will still teach him the Rasengan. And Naruto will get the trick to finding the scroll on Hiraishin in the next chapter. So that's some things to look forward to. Now, I'm going to go start on the epilogue. Remember that it will be shorter than any of the other chapters, only one or two thousand words as opposed to five or six thousand. At least I think it'll be short. Oh well. Peace.


	10. Part One Epilogue: A Second Journey

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Don't sue me.

AN: Here is the epilogue of part one. In this, Naruto leaves the village, and prepares for his true journey. Also, some things are put into motion to set up a great confrontation in the future. Now, let's get it on. Chapter ten, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

-0-0-

After Naruto left the tower, he made towards his father's clan house. He had heard a conversation on his way out, and was eager to go get his father's Hiraishin scroll.

-FLASHBACK(ten minutes ago, after leaving Hokage Office)-

Naruto leaned against the door, finally letting the pain of his sentence show. But he didn't stay that way for long, and moved towards the exit. As he moved, he heard several conversations begin by the ninja that saw him. But one conversation stopped him.

One chunin looked at him, then said to his friend, a Jounin," that boy, the demon. They say that he's the son of the Yondaime. Do you think it's true?"

The Jounin looked thoughtful, then said," Maybe. Yellow hair is fairly uncommon. Only the Yamanaka have blonde hair like that, and Tsunade of course. That would be trick, huh? Related to the Sannin. But if what I suspect is true, the Yondaime's family wasn't from here originally. I hear they moved here from Suna of all places. But if you take away the whisker marks, then he is the vision of a young Yondaime. Even his tendency for pranking smacks of the Yondaime."

The Chunin said," What do you mean, his pranking?"

The Jounin said," You wouldn't remember it, because you were younger than the Yondaime by about five years, but when he was younger, Yondaime-sama was known as the Prankster King. His pranks were the things of legends."

Naruto stiffened, and then moved swiftly for the exit. He knew where his father hid the directions to Hiraishin.

-END FLASHBACK-

He made it to his clan house and opened the gate with his blood, and shut it behind him. He didn't need any distractions.

He went up to the library and moved towards the journals section. He looked for his father, Minato, and saw that he did indeed have three journals. One on his daily life, one with his notes of various experimental jutsu, and one on his pranks. Naruto pulled the journal on pranking, and opened it to the last page. On it was a note:

Naruto, if you're reading this, then you are one step closer to Hiraishin. Hopefully you have already learned of the Rasengan, and if I'm really lucky you have learned it yourself. But whatever. You came to my prank journal because I am a prankster at heart, and I think you will be too. Now you will have to use more of my knowledge to find the next path. The only clue I can give you is to look to your center, and you will know.

Naruto scrunched up his eyes, thinking. Then it clicked. His stomach was the center of the body, and what was on his stomach. A seal. Somewhere close by there was a seal. He looked on the journal, but there was no seal anywhere in it. He checked the floor, but there was nothing. He was about to return the book to the shelf and give up on the Hiraishin, but he noticed it at last. Under where the book had rested was two grooves carved onto the wood. He started pulling books off the shelf next to where he had found the journal, and before long, he saw a seal carved into the wood. He looked at it and realized it was a blood seal. Taking a moment to figure out how his father could have done all this in the time between his being born and him sealing Kyuubi into him, he dripped some blood onto the seal, there was a puff of smoke, and a cylinder wrapped in paper. He unrolled the paper to see a device with five rollers with letters on them. He looked at the paper and saw that it was another note. He read.

Naruto, you are just one step away from the power of Hiraishin. I hope you aren't getting too bored with this, because Hiraishin is a great move to have. Now, what you now hold in your hand is called a cryptex, and it is a device that has been lost to the world for many years. Years before the elemental nations were even around, there was a man, who was considered a genius by human standards. He was named Leonardo DaVinci, and was an inventor of unparalleled skill. He invented the cryptex, and developed a use for it. Then humans were nearly wiped off the map in a huge war that shook the world and changed it. This changed world is what it is today, and records of times before the great disaster are rare. I found the information on the cryptex, and developed one of my own, which you now hold. Basically, it is a puzzle. You get a clue, and you must figure out the clue to get the password. You put in the password, and it will open the inner chamber, allowing you to see the note inside. Do not under any circumstances attempt to break through the cryptex. There is a failsafe to prevent you getting the note if you try. I won't go into details, but it will destroy the inside of the cryptex and probably cause you some pain too. Your clue is this: No matter how much you take out of it, it is never empty. What is it? That is the clue, and you must figure it out to get the notes on Hiraishin. I wish you luck, and hope you can figure it out. Goodbye, my son.

Naruto very nearly screamed out in frustration, but held it in at the last moment. He thought for a few minutes, then gave up and pocketed the cryptex. He would figure it out later, he was on a schedule here. He grabbed his father's three journals and left the library, and the house as well. He unsealed the gate and left, shutting the metal into place to prevent anyone from entering unless they had his blood. He turned around and saw his sensei waiting, with another man with long white hair, and an outfit like a Tabuki actor(is that how you spell it?).

Hawkeye said," Naruto, this is Jiraiya, my and your father's sensei. He is also the one Minato taught the Rasengan. He has a message for you."

Jiraiya stepped up and said," Hey Gaki, you grew." Naruto stared at him blankly, and he chuckled a little before continuing," You won't know it, but I am your godfather." More staring, and it was starting to unnerve him. He said," Listen, I want to get to know you, and what with your banishment, that might not happen any time soon. So I was wondering if you would like to travel with me while I seek out my old team mate Tsunade to be our new Hokage."

Naruto stared at him blankly, then said," No." He turned away, ignoring the sputtering of the old man behind him and the laughs of his sensei.

Jiraiya said," Why not gaki, don't you want to meet her?"

Naruto turned and said," She is not my Hokage and never will be. I am no longer a shinobi or a citizen of Konoha. Once I leave the gates later tonight I will not look back, and I will not help Konoha in any way."

Jiraiya said," You won't be. You'll only be traveling in the same direction as me and sticking close to learn of any possible jutsu I can teach you."

Naruto thought about it, then said," No." He turned again to leave.

Jiraiya decided to pull out the big guns," I'll teach you Rasengan."

That stopped Naruto cold. He turned and said," You'll teach me my father's technique if I go?"

Jiraiya nodded, and said," Look Naruto, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, but I want to make up for it. I'll do damn near anything, short of stopping my research and writing." Here he giggled perversely.

Naruto grunted, and then said," You would do anything? Then solve this." He pulled out the cryptex and held it out. Jiraiya took it, and looked at it blankly. Naruto smirked, and said," There is only one clue as to how to open it, and it contains Yondaime's notes on the Hiraishin."

Jiraiya looked at it, then said," What's the clue. I'm good at this sort of thing."

Naruto nodded, and said," No matter how much you take out of it, it's never empty. What is it?"

Jiraiya thought about it, then laughed and said," Minato, you clever little bastard."

Naruto said," You figured it out already?"

Jiraiya nodded, and said," Yes, I taught him that riddle. The answer is a hole."

He was about to put it in, but Naruto grabbed the device from him and quickly put in A-H-O-L-E. He pulled, and the cryptex came apart. He slowly pulled out the scroll and then looked at the thin tube that it had been wrapped around. It was filled with a smoky liquid. Jiraiya looked at it and said," Liquid Hellfire, Minato's answer to the ability of the final form of the Sharingan that is similar. It will burn once it comes into contact with a solid surface and won't go out for days, maybe weeks even."

Naruto nodded, putting the cryptex back together and pocketing it. Jiraiya said," Naruto, I know I have no right to ask, but can you give me that device. I always wanted it when I saw Minato with it."

Naruto nodded, pulling the device out and handing it over. He moved off, reading the instructions for the Hiraishin. Or so it appeared. He laughed and cut his hand open again, dropping blood onto the paper. A scroll popped out and he unrolled it, revealing at last the information on the Hiraishin and the way to use it. He rolled the scroll up and pocketed it. He turned to Jiraiya and said," I need two hours to finish up in Konoha, then I'll meet you at the main gate. OK?"

Jiraiya nodded, and he went on his merry way, happy to have gotten a small piece of Minato's legacy for his own. Naruto for his part, went to the Sarutobi estate and looked at the imposing place. Or so it would appear. He walked through the gates, nodding to the two guards. He found Sarutobi Asuma in the garden with Konohamaru. He coughed, and when the two Sarutobi looked up at him, he said," Is it possible to get what Sandaime left for me?"

Asuma said," I would have no problem giving you my dad's body, but I want to know, if you come back with the intent to destroy Konoha, will you use my dad to do it?"

Naruto looked at him, and then said," Never. Just as I would never use Haku to cause harm to his precious people, and I won't use Hanzo to destroy Ame. I honor the wishes of those who I turn into puppets. Sandaime loved this village, and though my own experiences here are far from pleasant, I won't betray his trust by using him to destroy those that he protected, even with his life."

Naruto looked up and they saw the tears in his eyes. He continued," Don't get me wrong, I hate this village with every fiber of my being, and if for some reason the council decides to ignore my warning, I will destroy it. But I won't use the Sandaime Hokage to do it. I'll use my Kyuubi or something just as powerful. Fitting don't you think?"

Asuma nodded, and then motioned to one of the servants, saying," Go into the study, there is a scroll on the desk. Bring it here."

The servant nodded, and disappeared. Within moments, she reappeared, with the scroll. Naruto took it, and turning away, so that Konohamaru and Asuma couldn't see, unsealed it's contents, revealing the body of the Sandaime. He resealed it, and turned back around. He said," I thank you for being honest with me, and I hope I never have to follow through with my threat. Goodbye."

As he turned to leave, Konohamaru said," Naruto, wait." Naruto turned back around, and Konohamaru said," When we first met, you didn't think much of me, and I didn't think much of you. But despite that, I count you as one of my friends, and hope that you think of me like that too."

Naruto knelt down so that he was even with Konohamaru. He said," Konohamaru, I am sorry, but I don't think of you as a friend." Konohamaru looked heartbroken, but Naruto continued with a smile on his face," I think of you as a little brother, and a rival to the position of Hokage. I can't compete any more, but I want you to achieve your dream, for both our sakes. I know you are too young for it now, and you will need a Godaime, but so what. Go for Rokudaime or Shichidaime if need be. Just one day, I hope to look at the mountain, whether from a distance or from the beyond with my mother and father, but one day I hope to look at the monument and see your face there. It is one of my wishes, and I hope you can help me fulfill it."

Konohamaru wiped his eyes from where he was crying from Naruto's speech, and said," I will. I will become one of the Hokage, Rokudaime or Shichidaime. And when that happens, I will get rid of your banishment and you can return to us."

Naruto smiled, tears in his eyes as well. He stood up and said," Good luck with that kid. But before anything else, you need to grow up and become a ninja. Now, I still have some things to do, and I only have about an hour to do them. So this is not goodbye, but farewell for now."

He turned and left, clutching the scroll that held the body of his surrogate grandfather. He knew he had only two things to do. He had to say goodbye to his team first off.

He found them at their usual training grounds, and walked up towards them. He said," Hello."

Hikari and Juugo turned around and nodded to him, and there was an awkward silence between the three of them. Then Naruto said," I take it you heard." The two of them nodded, and he said," Alright. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that I got banished and left you here without any other friends. And I wanted to say goodbye." He turned and started walking away.

Only to be stopped by a massive killer intent. He turned back around shakily to see Hikari radiating KI at him(if you don't know what KI is, it's Killer Intent). She stormed up to him and grabbed his head, pulling him down by the hair to her level. She whispered in his ear," You ever think of just saying bye and leaving us here again, and I will kill you and deal with the consequences." She released him and let him get up straight before she continued," I vowed to always be by your side. And I intend to keep that vow."

Juugo looked at him and said," I will always stay with you. You were my first and only friend, even when I was going insane. You have kept me sane. For that I thank you, and will stay with you. Where you go, I will follow."

Naruto nodded, and said," Alright, I have one last thing to do, so you find Hawkeye-sensei and give him your forehead protectors. Tell him you are going with me, and that you no longer wish to be considered a ninja of Konoha. He'll understand. Meet me at the main gate in thirty minutes. If you see a big man with long white hair and make up on his face, it's just Jiraiya. We'll be traveling with him for a time." They nodded, and he disappeared down the street.

He made for his final destination, the ANBU prison. He went inside, and looked at the ANBU waiting and watching the room. He went up to him or her and said," Hello, I was hoping to visit Tayuya."

The ANBU looked at him, and then said," Why? And weren't you banished."

Naruto scowled, then said," I remember you, Tora-san. I want to take her with me. Surely you have already picked up any good information from her. How about you let her go with me, release her to my custody, and I won't kill you for your help in the mobs that chased me on my fourth birthday."

Tora sneered at him and said," You think an exile that was a genin could defeat me, an elite ANBU? Bring it on."

Naruto said," It's already been brought. There are four puppets on you. They are little one shot insect puppets with a rather deadly poison in their systems. One bite from even one will cause a mid level summon of any variety to be paralyzed and killed within hours. Four bites to a mere human will kill you in seconds. Now, are you going to release her to my custody?"

Tora said, very quickly," We have found that you are sufficient to guard this prisoner. She will be released to you." He fumbled for the keys, well aware that Naruto hadn't let his string go off or the puppets to fall. He rushed to the holding cells and opened one, revealing a shocked Tayuya. She looked as the ANBU moved to the side, and Naruto said," Come with me if you want to live."

She stared at him, and he stared right back. Then she gave a laugh and said," and if I fucking refuse?"

Naruto smiled and said," You will be left here, and most likely executed for aiding one of their most famous missing nin. What will it be? Go with me and my group, or die here alone."

Tayuya jumped up and rushed for the door, before turning and kneeing Tora in the groin. She gathered up her weapons as Naruto pulled his strings back. As he and Tayuya left, he said," Oh, by the way. There is no small insects with deadly poison puppets in my arsenal. But thanks for releasing her to me."

He led her to the main gate where Jiraiya, Hawkeye, Juugo, and Hikari were waiting for him. They saw him with the girl that had been captured, and Hawkeye raised an eyebrow. But he didn't say anything to Naruto, instead turning to Tayuya and saying," I'm sorry that I used that technique on you. I was angry."

Tayuya nodded, not really used to such things. Jiraiya coughed to gain attention, then said," Alright, so you four are traveling towards the south of Fire country. What a coincidence, so am I. And they always say, safety in numbers, so if you want, I can travel with you four."

Naruto nodded, and said," We appreciate the gesture, Jiraiya-sama, and we accept. Let's go. The sooner I get out of Konoha, the better." He unrolled a scroll, unsealing Shukaku. He climbed in, and they were off.

The chunin guarding the gates watched as the unlikely procession left. Then, when they were almost out of range to be seen or heard, they heard a voice screaming," IF YOU FUCKING TOUCH ME ON MY FUCKING ASS AGAIN, I'LL FUCKING RIP OFF YOUR FUCKING NUTS AND MAKE YOU FUCKING EAT THEM YOU FUCKING ASSWIPE COCKSUCKER!"

-0-0-

And here is the epilogue of part one. Part two will be out whenever I feel like putting it out. I think I'll finish Devil's Heritage before I start part two. Now, you seem to have given up on figuring out who my mystery woman for Naruto is going to be, so I'll just come out and say it. It's the Snow Kunoichi that is trying to kill Princess Yukie/Koyuki. I had her name on a web site, but unfortunately, I am having trouble getting to it at present, so I can't tell you her name just yet. And one small thing, part two starts with a small time skip of a few months, during the snow mission, and then has another bigger jump of several years. So just keep that in mind. Peace.


	11. Snow and Remembering

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Don't sue me.

AN: Here is chapter eleven of Naruto the Puppeteer, which is the official beginning of part two, known as Homecoming. In this one, About two months have passed since Naruto was banished, and he's making his way to the Land of Snow for reasons unknown. He has been joined by Kabuto as the team's medic. And he has decided on what he wants to do. Now, let's get it on. Chapter eleven, Naruto the Puppeteer, Begin.

-0-0-

Two months. Two months since he had been banished from Konoha. Two months since he had been betrayed by the council he had done his best to protect. Now he was standing on a ocean liner, heading for the Land of Snow. Even he didn't truly know why he was going there, other than Kyuubi saying to him that he needed to go there for a few things. The fact that the fox NEVER spoke to him compelled him to go. Meanwhile, he was thinking over his training with Jiraiya.

-FLASHBACK-

Jiraiya had stopped them for the night, and was preparing to sneak into the woman's tent as it had been dubbed. Naruto had moved forward in the small clearing to stand before him and said," You should know that Tayuya was being very serious when she said that she would do that, Jiraiya-sennin. If you have time to try to grope, you have time to teach. Tell me how to do the Rasengan."

Jiraiya sighed, but knew it was no good. He led the way towards a stream that they had found earlier when setting up, and filled a balloon with water. He said," Watch carefully, I don't like repeating myself. This is the first stage of the Rasengan." He began pouring chakra into the water balloon, and it began expanding in all directions. Then it popped, water flying everywhere. Jiraiya filled up another balloon, and handed it to Naruto before saying," When you can show me that you can do that properly, then we'll talk about stage two."

-END FLASHBACK-

Naruto looked out at the Land of Snow which was still miles away. His mind flashed back to his first meeting with Tsunade of the Sannin.

-FLASHBACK-

Jiraiya and Naruto went into town while the others waited at the camp. It wouldn't do for all of them to get pounded by a drunk Tsunade, which was very likely to happen.

Twenty minutes later, that seemed like what the evening would end up being. Tsunade had been very drunk when they found her, and Jiraiya telling her that it was in the Sandaime's will that she be Hokage hadn't gone over too well. So now they were standing inside a very quiet bar as Tsunade ranted about how no one would ever want a thankless job that ended up in the death of the person.

Naruto had put up with enough, and said," Why don't you just be quiet for a minute." Tsunade looked at him in anger that he dared to interrupt, and Jiraiya looked like he thought Naruto was crazy. Shizune just looked confused. Naruto continued," My grandfather, bless his soul, stated in his will that you would be the Godaime, and it will be so. You call the job of Hokage a thankless job and only someone crazy would ever take it up. If that is the case, what does that say about your family. Your own Grandfather started the village, and his brother took up the job after him of protecting it. My grandfather continued the legacy, and then my father took it upon himself to give his life for the village and it's people, damning me to an eternal hell at the same time. All the people on the monument are heroes of the highest caliber, and you would disgrace them all by saying they were crazy for taking the job. I don't believe that, and you are descended directly from one of those 'crazy' people. I won't pretend to know what your problem with Konoha is, but if you think anything ill of those that I looked up to as a child, then I will destroy you so completely that no one will be able to put you back together again." He started to walk away, ignoring all the stares he was being given. Twenty seconds after the door shut, there was a feral growl and Tsunade took off after him.

She reached him down the street and prepared one of her massive punches, aiming for his back to the left of his spine. He dodged aside from years of reflexes and pulled out a scroll on reflex as well. Then he saw her, and shoved the scroll back into it's pocket. He said," Only shocked you for half a minute, I'm losing my touch."

She growled and lashed out at him, before saying," You dare to talk down at me, and threaten me. I'll kill you. You know nothing of my pain."

Naruto dodged another strike and said," Oh, enlighten me then."

She prepared another punch, which was dodged as well, and said," My boyfriend and my little brother both wanted to be Hokage, and they died because of their beliefs. All I have left is Shizune, and I won't let anyone hurt me again by returning to the village."

Naruto said," So, you lost some loved ones. Did you know, I never knew who my parents were until just a few short months ago? Less than four, actually. You lost your precious people, but I never had anyone growing up. Instead of focusing on the bad, focus on the good memories you have of your brother and boyfriend. You will live longer and be happier if you do." He didn't dodge as she punched him in the gut, and he fell back before saying," You can live in the past if you want, or live for the future, and work so that no one has to go through what me or you went through." He turned away and walked off, leaving a thoughtful Tsunade behind him.

-END FLASHBACK-

He looked as they came to the dock in the Land of Snow. They weren't actually in the country yet, but this was the way station and check point. They checked their papers and reason for visiting. Kabuto had done a rather good job when he made those fake papers. It would be kinda strange that their reason for visiting was a thousand year old demon trapped in their leader's belly had told them to come here. As it was, they were tourists. Then as they took off again, he thought of the battle with Orochimaru and his sound nin.

-FLASHBACK-

It was a week since Naruto had fought and talked to Tsunade, and they were expecting her answer today. But that was looking more and more impossible by the second. Naruto looked at the group of Sound nin who were led by Sakon and Orochimaru behind them with his medic Karin. Sakon had decided the best way to neutralize Tsunade was by cutting himself and flinging the blood on her. She was practically catatonic. Naruto snarled at the Hebi Sannin, and said," You better have made your peace with whatever god you believe in, because you are going to die here." He would have continued, but a blow from one of the Sound nin stopped him. He dodged aside as the nin stood forward, saying," You don't even have a forehead protector, so you're not a ninja of consequence if one at all. Die." He launched forward, aiming to take Naruto's head off.

Juugo got in the way, smashing the nin back with his powerful right hook. Naruto smirked at the ninjas and said," Oh, believe me, there is such a thing as a banished ninja of consequence." He unrolled a scroll and unsealed Shukaku, climbing into the puppet. It came alive as he connected the chakra strings to it, and he moved forward, the tail stabbing at the nin that Juugo had attacked. He dodged aside, and the battle was on. The six nin that were unknown all launched weapons at them, aiming to debilitate and kill them all. Juugo made some hand seals and pushed his palm into the ground, yelling," Doton: Daichi Toori Kabe no Jutsu.(Earth Release: Earth Style Wall(I'm sure it's not the way it's said in the anime or manga, but that's how it came out with my translator))"

A wall of earth appeared from the ground and blocked the projectiles. Hikari jumped over it, her armor of water already activated. She used the water as a weapon as she used her bloodline to launch the water as small projectiles at the ninja gathered against her. Orochimaru looked amazed at this skill, and in that moment, he made his choice. One day she would be his vessel. She next made a huge water dragon with no hand seals or even calling out the jutsu name. It just appeared as she willed it to. It smashed into the ninja, scattering them to the wayside. Then Naruto burst through the wall and stabbed with his tail, getting one of the ninja in the stomach, before injecting a lethal poison into his blood with the tip of his tail. The rest of the ninja grouped together around their leader, protecting him from harm. Naruto swept his tail around, and launched a barrage of poisoned senbon needles at the ninja. They did their best to dodge the hail of death, but two got pierced and died within moments. Then Sakon was there, in front of Naruto's puppet, and smashed the head of the creature. His body was glowing with the power of level two of the cursed seal. Shukaku was completely obliterated from the head down to the chest and claws. Naruto came out of the puppet and resealed it. He said," How come no matter where I go, someone destroys one of my works of art?"

No one answered, but Juugo rushed at Sakon and smashed him back with two punches. Sakon looked pissed that the guy was doing this, and went up to level two. He said," I'm surprised you managed to hurt me in the first form, but you won't win against the second."

Juugo smirked, and turned to Naruto. Naruto smiled and unsealed Haku before saying," Go wild, but leave the body mostly intact. I have a use for it."

Juugo nodded, and black markings appeared all over his body. Sakon was shocked, and it showed even in his demonic level two face. He said," How? No one but Sound nin and Sasuke-sama should have it."

Juugo smirked and disappeared. Orochimaru hadn't told them about him. His fist smashed into Sakon's gut and made him cough up blood. Juugo's fist smashed into the back of his head next and his knee came up to strike his chin. Sakon pulled back, but Juugo disappeared, reappearing behind him with his hands already reaching around his head and neck. He said," You fakers don't stand a chance against the real deal." A quick snap of the neck and Sakon was dead. Juugo pulled him over his shoulder and walked over to Naruto, who was battling one of the two Sound nin still alive. Hikari had killed one with a stream of water down the throat, drowning him. Juugo slammed the corpse down next to Naruto and walked forward calmly and grabbed the two arms of the nin, leaving Naruto to launch a poisoned senbon from Haku's wrist at the man. It embedded in his liver, and within a few minutes, he was dead. The last fell to Kabuto as he cut his aorta with his chakra scalpel. He looked at Orochimaru and Karin. Tsunade was still out of it. Karin stood in front of Orochimaru, doing her best to defend him. She turned and said," Perhaps we should retreat Lord Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru considered, but Naruto pulling his sleeve up distracted him. There were two tattoos on his arm now. One had the kanji for 'King' and the other had the kanji for 'Leaf'. He pressed his finger to Leaf and channeled chakra, unsealing the puppet within. As the smoke cleared, he said," This is one you should know, though he is new to the collection. I give you puppet number eleven, Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi." The smoke cleared completely, revealing the deceased Hokage that Orochimaru had killed just a few weeks ago. His stab wound had been fixed, and he seemed to be made of a wooden material.

Orochimaru smirked and said," Even in death he finds a way to irk me, isn't that right, Naruto-ku..." He never finished as Naruto smashed Sarutobi's fist into him. Naruto said," You don't ever call me -kun. I'm not one of your little boy toys." He seemed pissed beyond just about anything. It might have something to do with Kabuto telling him that Orochimaru was a pedophile and gay to boot. No one would ever know. Sarutobi launched a blast of wind from his palms, and Orochimaru called for a wall of earth just like Juugo did earlier. Karin moved around and attempted to attack Naruto himself, but Haku got in the way and struck her with a shield made of ice.

With Orochimaru, he was dodging all the attacks of the Hokage-turned-puppet. Orochimaru decided it was time to end this. He called Karin to him and forced her to do a summoning for him. With a blast of smoke, Manda was there. He yelled at Orochimaru for calling him without a sacrifice, but Orochimaru tried appeasing him by saying that all those on the ground were sacrifices, and Manda seemed appeased.

Naruto looked at the giant purple snake and then at his allies and friends. All of them were frozen from the sight of the giant snake. Naruto sealed Haku and Sarutobi into their respective tattoos and bit his thumb. He made some hand seals and yelled out," Kuchinose no Jutsu(summoning technique, if you don't know it you shouldn't be reading fanfiction)" and slammed his palm into the ground. With a mighty plume of smoke, the summon was revealed. Orochimaru looked awed as he remembered this particular summon. Tsunade, who had regained her senses after Shizune wiped the blood off, was equally impressed. Jiraiya, who had just arrived, said," So that's why he didn't want the toad summoning contract when I offered it."

A giant salamander was staring down Orochimaru and Manda. Naruto smirked as he realized that the three Sannin had to have fought this summon when they got their name. He thought about using Hanzo now, but it seemed overkill. The Salamander yelled up at him," You summon me to deal with the expensive leather purse, Naruto?"

Naruto smirked and said," Indeed I did. Though I think it's more of a wallet myself, Sansho-sama."

The salamander yelled at him," You have no idea what you're talking about. No manly wallet would ever be purple. It goes against the natural order of things. And drop the -sama crap, it annoys me. The -sama in my family is my father, not me."

They all looked confused, those that had fought it knew this was the boss summon. It's size alone should attest to that. But it said that it's father was the -sama of it's clan? Naruto decided that there had been enough talking and said," Very well, Sansho-sempai. Let's get that purse and the snake fag."

Sansho nodded, happy to be destroying this particular summon. It jumped forward, and launched a blast of fire at the snake. The snake dodged aside and bit into Sansho's side. Orochimaru jumped over and launched his sword at Naruto. Naruto dodged aside and prepared to summon another puppet. He placed his finger on King and was channeling chakra when Karin stopped him with a rain of shuriken. He dodged aside, and Orochimaru said," You shouldn't have resealed your puppets, Naruto-ku..." Once again a fist hit him, but this time it was Naruto himself. He went flying past, and Karin went to check on him and help him up. Naruto took the time to unseal Hanzo. He had replaced the arms, which were too damaged to be used, with vicious claws and his legs with six spindly legs that looked like a spider's legs. Naruto looked at Orochimaru as he came up, and said," This is Hanzo, as I'm sure you know. After all, he's one of the only ones who ever kicked your ever-loving gay ass. In fact, he's going to help me become the third person who can claim to be on that list. Let's go."

At that moment, Manda disappeared screaming obscenities at Orochimaru for summoning him and promising retribution. Orochimaru weighed his options, and then said," Karin, we're leaving." The medic ran up to him and grabbed him before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. They were gone, and Naruto sealed up Hanzo, before dismissing Sansho back to the summon realm and going to the bodies of the ninja who were still here, the bodies anyway. He looked at Sakon, and smiled, this was going to be fun. He said," Juugo, snap the other neck too, it's his brother, and needs to be dead too." As Juugo snapped the other neck, Naruto looked at the six corpses, before pulling out a serrated blade and began hacking off the arms and legs of one of the dead ninja. He had pieces for Hanzo now.

-END FLASHBACK-

Naruto saw that they were beyond the way station now. He smirked as he saw the first true sight of the Land of Snow. A huge ice berg that stood at the true entrance to the land. But then he frowned, there was a jutsu battle going on there. He looked at the group who appeared at his hand signal. Juugo, Hikari, Tayuya, Kabuto, and finally their newest addition, Kin. She had appeared after the three Sannin had departed from the city, two to Konoha and one to Oto, and asked that she be allowed to come with them. Naruto had allowed it, since half his group was made of former Oto ninja. He had no cause to regret that decision at all.

He said," There's a jutsu fight going on over there. Do we investigate, or leave it alone?" That was one of his quirks. Everyone had decided that he was the leader, but he still asked for their opinions. For some, it was still a problem. But this time there was no problem as they all agreed to investigate. Naruto went to see the captain of the ship and told him that his group was getting off ahead of schedule. The captain nodded, and wished him luck. Naruto smirked and said," I'm Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. I don't need luck." He returned to the group to see that they had gotten closer while he talked, and the jutsu was much more visible. Naruto jumped onto the water and started running for the shore of the ice berg. He saw a camera crew standing around watching the battle, and several groups of shinobi and kunoichi battling it out. He grew angry when he saw that one of the kunoichi was none other than Sakura. She was using her normal puppet. Juugo laid a hand on his shoulder, and he calmed down slightly. He was mighty pissed that she still wore the head band of Konoha, and it showed. Then one of the two Jounin, Naruto recognized him as Sasuke's mentor Kakashi, was knocked down. Naruto pulled out a kunai and prepared for battle. He said," Don't interfere unless you want to get hurt. I'm going all out on these fuckers." He threw the kunai and disappeared in a yellow flash.

He reappeared between Sai and another shinobi with a strange board and armor. Naruto smashed his fist into the man's face, and proceeded to attempt a Rasengan while still holding on. The end result was the man's face twisting cruelly. All activity stopped as they watched it happen. Then he flew back from the force, embedding in the snow. Naruto looked around, and sighed as he jumped high into the air, to escape the kunoichi who had appeared below him. She landed and threw a senbon with an orb attached to it. Naruto dodged aside, and the orb exploded into a small burst of ice. Naruto smirked as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal the seal with the kanji 'Ice' on it. He channeled chakra, and with a burst of smoke, Haku was revealed. He connected the needed three strings and launched him at the woman. He said," You're quite good."

She smirked and said," You're not so bad yourself. What's your name, and are you a ninja with them?" She gestured at the five Shinobi they had been fighting.

Naruto laughed and said," Please. I have no love for Konoha. It was once my home, but not any more. Two of those five have tried to kill me, and one wants my powers for himself. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Now, it's common courtesy to give your name when some gives you their's."

She smiled and said," Kakuyoku Fubuki. But even so, I have to kill that actress, and you're in the way, cutie. So die." She launched another couple of those ice senbon bombs. Naruto watched in fascination as they came at him. He dodged one, and grabbed the other and threw it back. At the same moment, Haku went on the attack, attacking at range with senbon of his own. Fubuki dodged the ice bomb but failed to see the senbon that embedded in her thigh. Then Haku was on her, his hand coating themselves in ice. His first punch was dodged, the second blocked. But Fubuki looked horrified as the ice coated her arm where it hit.

Naruto said," This is one of my specially designed jutsu that I can only use through Haku. He coats his hands in ice and anything he touches is frozen. It'll continue to spread until it freezes the target solid from top to bottom. You can try to break the ice, but it'll be difficult for you." He launched Haku again, and his next few punches hit her arms and legs, so that she fell over. Haku made the ice she fell onto crawl up her arms and legs, binding them to the ice berg. Naruto made a clone and handed Haku over to it, before unsealing Reaper and Suzumebachi. He connected the strings and moved towards the other two. He knew who these were now, the Snow ninja under Kazahana Doto. He looked at the thinner man who was battling Kakashi and said," Roga Nadare." He looked at the big man who was getting up from the snow Naruto had put him in. He said," Fuyukuma Mizore." This caught the attention of the two ninja, who looked at him as he launched his two puppets, Reaper at Mizore and Suzumebachi at Nadare. They dodged aside as the two landed. Reaper swung it's scythe and attempted to cut Mizore in half at the waist. He blocked with his armor, which didn't even crack.

Naruto looked at him in amazement and he said," This is a special armor that absorbs chakra, making jutsu useless and it stronger than just about anything."

Naruto smirked as he said," Oh really. Well, let's see just how far that armor can go." He sealed his two puppets away and rolled up his sleeve, revealing the tattoo of the kanji 'Sand'. He channeled chakra into it, and with a burst of smoke, his puppet was revealed. He connected the strings to the deceased shinobi and said," You'll have to forgive me for this, but I'm still not too sure what all he can do. I give you puppet number ten, Sandaime Kazekage." The smoke cleared, revealing the dead Kazekage to the world. Sakura was about to yell at him for taking her sensei's best puppet, but knew it was not a wise move to say something like that with Kakashi and Hawkeye there. But she vowed to get her sensei's puppet back.

Naruto launched a blast of iron sand at Mizore, who dodged aside. The sand became a set of spears, and blasted forward at him again. He dodged the first two, but the third and fourth hit the armor. It cracked slightly, and Naruto smirked as he grabbed Mizore with the sand itself, and pulled him up just like Gaara did with his own sand. Naruto said," Well, let's see if your armor protects you from everything being pressed into the size of an apple."

He dodged aside as Nadare attacked him. He blocked a kick to his side, and grabbed his foot before throwing him away. But the damage had been done, and the Kazekage had fallen down as he disconnected the strings to fight against the other threat. Mizore moved away, and Nadare bit his thumb as he made hand seals. He pressed his hand down and yelled," Kuchinose no Jutsu."

A huge whale appeared in the ocean behind him and jumped up into the air, aiming to take down the whole ice berg. It was moving down towards where Fubuki was still frozen to the ice berg. Naruto said," You fool, you'll kill your own team mate to get rid of me?"

Nadare said," In a word, yes. She's weak for getting caught, and I have no use for weakness." He jumped away with Mizore, getting off the ice berg as the whale came closer. Naruto broke into action, moving faster than most knew he could do. He ended up by Fubuki and ordered his clone to use Haku to free her. The ice was gone before he stopped moving, so he just grabbed her up and bolted for the boat he saw attached to the ice. His team was already there, and Naruto was the only one left on the ice. His clone had gotten his Kazekage, the clone he didn't even remember making. He jumped towards the boat as Iron Sand appeared under the whale as a barrier between the boat and berg and the massive mammal. It struggled as the clone used the Kazekage to push the whale back into the water. Naruto laid down the girl and moved away, back onto the ice berg. He yelled," You stupid animal. What the hell were you thinking." He pulled out the scroll from his back and unrolled it to the kanji for it's sealed item. He made a seal and created ten Kage Bushin without a sound and channeled chakra into the paper and then the seal. With a mighty blast of smoke, his biggest puppet was revealed. The ten clones all took up position. But then he grew grim as four more whales appeared. He saw Nadare and Mizore on a small boat two hundred yards away. He could just barely make them out. The five whales moved around the ice berg and his Kyuubi no Kitsune puppet. He sent a tail at the largest one, but it dodged by going deeper. Then he saw it, one of the whales was up in the air. He was about to send several tails at the whale, but a song stopped him. It was a dangerous song, one that disrupted clones. He had heard of a summon clan that could disrupt various jutsu, but never thought he was meet them so soon. The ten clones dispersed into smoke and Kyuubi went silent. The Naruto clone with the Kazekage attempted to stop the whale with the sand again, but it was no good, and the whale was still falling, though slowly. Naruto worked quickly as he whipped out a paper he had prepared for this. He channeled Kyuubi's chakra into the paper seal and when he filled it up, he pressed it into the puppet's body.

There was a blast of wind and heat as he did this, and a demonic voice spoke," Kit, you better have a good ass reason for this shit."

Naruto's voice was heard as he said," I know Kyuu, I know. But these whales can disrupt clones, so I had no choice. Please destroy the whales, and that little boat out there. Leave the bigger one, my friends are on it."

The demonic voice said," Fine. Next time put me into a clone so I can go get some, as opposed to a huge ass puppet."

Then the dust that had somehow appeared around the puppet cleared, and they saw it. It looked exactly the same as before, with the exception of the lack of clones on the back of the giant puppet.

One of the whales jumped up, and attempted to ram it's rather massive horn into the puppet and disable it. Six tails shot out and stabbed it in the side and bottom, before pushing it off and into the water, which grew red with blood. The puppet then did what shouldn't be possible. It spoke," You little summons think you can beat me? I'm the fucking Kyuubi no Kitsune, no one tops me."

Naruto said," Ah, but my dad did."

Kyuubi muttered," Damn brats and always having to ruin the moment." The other four whales jumped up, pulling a huge amount of water behind them. The tails shot out and decimated them, bringing with it winds that were unlike anything anyone had ever felt, with the exception of Hawkeye and Kakashi, who had felt it twelve years ago when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha and started this whole mess. The whales fell back, all of them cut up and bloodied. They disappeared into the summons realm. The Kyuubi looked at the small boat. Or where it was before. Now it was gone. The giant fox spirit trapped in the giant fox puppet said," Kit, they've gone. Want me to go get them. And maybe level some villages while I'm at it?" He sounded hopeful on that last bit.

Naruto said," no. I'll deal with them later. You still haven't told me why we're up here anyway."

Kyuubi said," Just trust me on this, kit. There's an item here that will give you an edge unlike anything you've ever seen."

Naruto nodded as he said," Fine. I'm pulling you back out, OK?" The great fox nodded, and Naruto pulled the paper out. The puppet fell silent again. Naruto sealed it into his scroll and made his way back to the boat. He boarded and looked at the group that looked at him in fright. He said," What, never seen a giant talking fox before?"

Everyone sweat dropped.

-0-0-

Here is chapter eleven. It's probably shorter than most of my work, but it should be good anyway. I hope you liked the fighting that was done. Yes, Naruto has turned Sakon(and Ukon) into puppet(s). They're still one body, but they can separate as needed. They should appear next chapter. By the way, next chapter will be the end of the Snow mission, and Naruto gets what Kyuubi wants him to get. I have a small question for you though. Should Naruto meet up with another Jinchuuriki? I'll be making it a poll on my profile here in a moment, so just answer the question there. I decided to throw in Kin for no real reason beyond having an even number of people in Naruto's team for now. Depending on the poll, I can take this next chapter one of two ways, so please vote and soon. Now, I'm going to stop this crap. Peace.


	12. Snow, Snow, Snow

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist. Don't sue me.

Alright, here is chapter twelve of Naruto the Puppeteer. In this one, the Snow mission continues, and tempers rise as Naruto's group and the Konoha ninja butt heads. And a new foe appears on the horizon, as well as a strange team that have unknown purposes. And so you don't have to look at the poll, the meeting of the other Jinchuuriki will happen. It won't be any of the ones that appear in canon, but an OC I have created. I'm also using an idea that is rather similar to something I saw in one of the stories I have read before. But you will have to see what I mean by that. Now, let's get it on. Chapter twelve, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

-0-0-

The ship had shoved off, and Naruto's group had been given two cabins of their own, far away from the rest of the passengers. Naruto liked that just fine, and the others were just as pleased. Naruto had explained to all of his team that Sakura and Sai were taught by Akasuna no Sasori and Deidara of Iwa. He also told them to avoid them at all costs.

Naruto walked down the stairs to the infirmary door, and opened it silently. As he entered, he felt a chakra source behaving erratically. Then the second feeling hit, and he nearly lost his lunch from the vileness of the chakra. He immediately knew what this chakra was. He burst through the door, startling the doctor that was working on Fubuki. He said," I'm sorry, but...but can she wake up?"

The doctor smiled at him, and said," I'm just finishing up with it. Let me get the bandages to finish her treatment." She walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a roll of bandages, expertly covering her wrists with them, covering up the frostbite. Naruto gave a chuckle and said," Sorry about that, I shouldn't have left her out so long."

The doctor just smiled and moved off to her office, leaving him alone. Naruto grew solemn as he prepared for what was to come. With a sigh he sat down, preparing for a wait. It wasn't that long before she woke up.

Fubuki looked around, scared out of her mind. She then saw Naruto sitting there. His face was unreadable. She tried to move, and he said," Don't try it, your wrists and ankles have some pretty bad frostbite on them. The doctor has already fixed them up, but don't try to move, it'll only hurt more."

He leaned forward and said," Now, let me ask you a few questions."

She gulped, and knew this was an interrogation. She said," I'm not telling you anything about our leader or his plans with the woman."

Naruto smiled and said," I'm not worried about that. I'm not with those pathetic shinobi from Konoha. One was once my teacher, but that is the past. I want to know which one you are."

She looked confused, and Naruto grew rather impatient," Tell me which one of the tailed beasts you hold."

She gasped, but then shook her head. She said," I'm not, I'm not one of those."

Naruto's temper, always short, was quickly running out, and he stood up and almost yelled," Don't give me that bullshit. I can sense it in you. You hold one of them, and I want to know which one."

She shook her head, and his temper flared, as well as his chakra. He yelled," TELL ME WHICH ONE!"

The door to the rest of the ship burst open, as did the door to the office. Kakashi and Sasuke came in, followed by the rest of the Konoha ninja.

Kakashi felt like he was trapped in the past. The air was saturated with the demon's chakra, and Naruto had taken on a feral appearance. Then Naruto seemed to realize just who was here, and he stalked off, through the crowding Konoha ninjas.

He went up onto the deck and looked out at the water. He knew he had scared a lot of people today, but he was uncaring about it. He started when he heard a person coming up behind him. He extended his senses, and realized that there were two of them. Then the doctor said," She wanted to talk to you."

Naruto gave a nod, not speaking. The doctor pulled up a chair for Fubuki to sit in so as to not stress her wrists and ankles. Naruto stared at the water as the doctor left them. Then Fubuki spoke," I don't know why you think I have a tailed beast, but I don't. I know one who does though."

Naruto finally turned to look at her, and saw that she had tears in her eyes. She continued," My twin brother has one. We've always been treated bad because of that."

Naruto nodded, and said," I can sense one in you though."

Fubuki said," My brother is the one whose been sealed with that fate, though I get the same. But why do you care. Are you one of those Akatsuki people come to take my brother from me."

Now that, Naruto didn't expect. But he composed himself and said," How do you know of the Akatsuki. I'm not one, though I've heard the name."

Fubuki looked into his eyes, and saw no hint of deception in them. She said," My leader, Doto, who wants that actress dead, was visited by them."

-FLASHBACK-

Fubuki listened to her leader talk through the door of his office. He was explaining to two men who wore black cloaks with red clouds on them about her brother.

Inside the office, Doto said," You want the Jinchuuriki for your own reasons? Why should I give you one of my best fighters?"

The shorter of the two said," You don't have much of a choice. If we want the Biju, then we will get them. But we don't want to alienate such a powerful shinobi force, so we are willing to go into an alliance with you. The Akatsuki controls Rain, our leader is the new leader of Rain, and killed Hanzo along with his entire family down to the last person."

Doto nodded, and said," I suppose, but not now. I'll give you the Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi no Tora after I use him to find and kill the princess of this country. I don't expect it will take long at all."

Outside, Fubuki grew cold as she realized that Doto was ready to sell out her brother. She knew that when not on a mission that required him, he was kept frozen to keep the power of the Tiger in check. She drew away from the door and ran for it.

-END FLASHBACK-

After telling her story, Naruto said," What did those two look like?"

Fubuki thought and said," I didn't see much. They wore those cloaks, and had straw hats."

Naruto said," Those are uniform for the Akatsuki. Anything else?"

"Now that I think about it, the taller one had a strange weapon or something strapped to his back. It was about four feet long and covered in bandages. And his skin was blue, or his hands anyway."

Naruto thought about what Jiraiya had told him about the various Akatsuki members. He then realized just who was after the Rokubi. He said," Kisame and Itachi."

Fubuki said," Who?"

Naruto said," That's the names of the two after the Rokubi, Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi, both S-rank missing nins. Kisame hails from Kiri and was once a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Itachi is from Konoha, and became a missing nin after killing off his entire clan, with the exception of his little brother Sasuke, who is the one you were fighting yesterday."

Fubuki nodded, and said," So, they're after my brother? Why, what do they want with the Biju. And how do you know so much about it."

Naruto said," Before that, I want to see something. I have a way to ascertain what Biju resides in anyone, if any. Would you let me try it on you?"

Fubuki said," I don't have one, but if it'll get you to stop, then I guess so. What do you need to do."

Naruto said," Just need to feel your chakra a bit. Could you use a pulse?"

Fubuki nodded, and flared her chakra for a moment. Naruto said in his mind," Fox, you get that? Which one is it?"

The Kyuubi answered," It's not one. Not a complete one at least. Best I could explain it is half of the Rokubi."

Naruto dove for his bag and started looking through it as soon as he heard that. Fubuki was about to ask what was happening, but his hand stopped her. He stood up, reading from a scroll," One of the most useful seals for the tailed demons is the Kaedama Wakeru Fuin(Double Split Seal, originally going to be Twin Split Seal). It can only be used on a demon of six tails or less, and splits them evenly between two people, children of less than a week of age. Because of the use of twins in this sealing method, it has been called the Kaedama Wakeru Fuin. It is represented by a half of the Yin Yang circle found usually on the lower back."

He looked up, and said," Do you have a seal on your lower back like a half of the Yin Yang circle?"

Fubuki said," Yes, my Tou-san told me that it was a seal to help with my chakra control. I was really young when it was placed, and I don't...really..." She trailed off as what he was saying came to her.

Naruto nodded, and said," I told you you have a tailed demon in you. Or at least half a one. You have half the Rokubi no Tora within you."

She tried to deny it, she really did. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She had never seen a second seal on her brother's body, and she somehow knew that the half of the Yin Yang circle he had on his back was the seal for Rokubi. It was the only explanation.

Fubuki broke down and cried when she realized that she was also a container. Naruto being the rather clueless boy he is, did what most boys do when confronted with a crying woman. He panicked. He did his level best to get her to stop crying, but nothing seemed to work, so he settled for just kneeling down and hugging her until her tears ran out.

Fubuki felt confused when the boy who was years younger than her pulled her in for a hug. Then she felt conscious thought slip away as she melted into his warm embrace. It was a lovely feeling and she never wanted it to end. But all too soon for her, it did, and he pulled away to say," Better now?"

She nodded, and he stood back up to look at the waves of the ocean. Fubuki said," Now, answer my question. Why do you know all of this?"

Naruto said," So single-minded. Oh well. The seal information comes from my fathers notes, he was a seal master before his death. As for the stuff on Akatsuki. Well, to put it simply, they're after me too."

She looked at him, and then it clicked, and she asked," Which one?"

Naruto smiled and said," Kyuubi. Yondaime Hokage sealed it into me at the cost of his life."

She nodded and said," So, any more questions for me?"

Naruto smiled, a sad one this time, and said," Just one. What side of the Yin Yang is your seal?"

She looked at him, and asked," Why?"

He said," The Kaedama Wakeru Fuin can only be used on demons by sealing the target into two children who can't be more than a week old. Because of this, and because of the lack of people who are willing to give up their child to have a demon, even just half of one, sealed into them, it's mostly used on twins so that you don't have to find two sets of parents willing to do it. These are well known facts to Seal users or masters. The lesser known fact is that the side of the Yin Yang the seal represents is the side of the demon that is sealed. The Yin Yang circle represents the good and evil of the world. The light side and the dark side if you will. In the light there is a little dark, and in the dark there is a little light. So, which side do you have, it will tell me if you have the good side of the demon or the bad side. If it's the bad side, that's good for me, means if I have to face your brother, he's less likely to not like me, and will be easier to deal with. If it's the good side you have, then we're going to be in a lot of trouble."

She nodded, and said," I have the light side of the Yin Yang as my seal."

Naruto smiled down at her and said," Well, shit."

Over the next few days, Fubuki was released to his custody. Kakashi wanted to kill her to protect the client, or so he said. Naruto had shot that down by saying," Whatever would your sensei say, Kakashi. You're talking about a prisoner who is no threat to anyone, least of all your client, since she spends just about all her time with me."

Kakashi said," I don't care. She is an enemy, and all enemies should be killed, no matter if they are a threat or not."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, and said," You can't mean that, and you best watch that you don't pass that mindset off onto an impressionable child, like Sasuke over there."

Kakashi snarled, as did Sasuke. Sasuke said," What would you know, dobe?"

Naruto lost all pretenses of being nice at that point, and said," Listen, she is MY prisoner, not yours. I have final say on whether she lives or dies. Do not test me on this."

He turned and left, but not before giving the two of them the finger.

Four days later, the boat landed, and they exited. Naruto shook hands with Hawkeye, and said," I'm sorry that we have to leave so soon after meeting up with you again, Hawkeye-sensei, but I have some things I need to do."

He leaned in and whispered," There might be a Jinchuuriki attacking you in the next encounter. He holds half of the Rokubi, the darker side of it, the more bloodthirsty. Be careful."

Hawkeye nodded, and said," You too, Naruto. Minato would be proud of you, my student. The best times of my life that I know of was when I was teaching you and Juugo and Hikari. Be careful."

Naruto looked back and said," Please, I'm Uzumaki Naruto." He walked off, ignoring the looks he was getting from the others.

Naruto and his team went out into the wilderness of Snow country. Naruto was constantly talking to the Kyuubi, and since he had told all of his team about the fox, did so openly, just to mess with them as they could only hear half of what was being said. They had mostly gotten used to it by now, and just nodded as he conversed.

Naruto asked the fox," Where the hell is this thing I'm supposed to be finding?"

The fox answered," It's close, just keep going straight."

He was currently in a blizzard. They had met a strange old man in a hut at the edge of a snow field. He had said that it was a sacred place that only one person can go onto in a group. The rest would have to wait. So here Naruto was, plowing on ahead through a blinding blizzard, getting colder despite the fox being a fire spirit and could keep him warmer than most. Just as he was about to suffer from exhaustion and collapse into a sleep he would never wake up from, he saw it, the mouth of a cave. He went in, and spent a few minutes heating himself up. Then he asked," This the place?"

The reason he asked was because there was huge amounts of demonic chakra in the air here. The fox answered," Yes, kit, this is the place."

Naruto walked forward, and saw several depictions of demons doing various unspeakable things to humans. He saw two dog demons tearing a baby in half and eating it, several humanoid demons raping a woman brutally. The fox said," These are just human depictions, and don't show how true demons act, Kit." Naruto nodded and continued on. Then he saw it, resting on a stand. A armlet. He said," Oh, hell no, I came here, into Snow country and through that blizzard for a wrist band?"

The fox snarled," Kit, show some damn respect, that's one of the five." Kyuubi's tone told him that this was important, and he listened quietly as the fox explained," This is one of five weapons created by the greatest demonic forger known. This is the Legion armlet. Once, there were five demons of unspeakable power, the first demons to exist. There was Lucifer, the fallen angel who became the original lord of hell. There was Cresia, the demonic seer that can see an attack before you can think of it. There was Draconis, the first dragon demon who claws could kill with but a scratch. There was Tataurio, the demon that created all Doujutsu in the world, and had one of his own that is superior to them all. And then there was Legion, who was known for being many different beings with the same collective mind. All five of them lived incredibly long lives, and were unmatched in battle. Then they got this crazy idea when Draconis was injured. They didn't want their power to die with them, so they ordered a forger, as the original demon council, to forge them weapons that would give the powers that made them famous to those that used them. They originally planned on having these items kept within their families so that their ancestors could call on their power when they were gone. As you will know, that didn't happen, but I'm getting ahead of myself. The forger made the weapons, infused with the yokai of the demon that it was designed after and made from a metal that could hold their power. The Sword of Lucifer, with the soul of the lord of hell infused inside, whoever uses it cannot be beaten for you fight with the power of a fallen angel with it. The crown of Cresia, which will give you insights that no one can match, not even a Sharingan wielder. The Draconis Knife, which allows you to kill with but a scratch. The Tataurian Eye, which recreates the effects of his own Doujutsu, what those are I don't know. And finally the Legion Armlet, which allows the wearer to create perfect clones at no cost. So long as you have a single copy remaining, if your original body is destroyed, you cannot die as you will return from the back of one of your clones. That is what made Legion so powerful, because he could create an army by himself, and if someone killed him, he would reappear from one of his clones.

" Now, there are two things you have to remember about this weapons. One is, they all stand on pillars like this, and are protected so that only one with demon blood in them, or a demonic vessel such as yourself, can pull them from them. The second is you can only use one. A mere human that uses one cannot without suffering from insanity, and even those with demon blood or being a vessel can handle the strain of two. I feel that the Legion Armlet is the best for you, since two others are already held by other demons. Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded, ready for this. Kyuubi said," Then pick up the armlet, and focus Yokai into it. It will bond with you, and no one else can use it until they kill you. If you die of natural causes, the armlet will return here to rest until another claims it."

Naruto picked up the armlet and slipped it onto his arm, then focused Kyuubi's chakra, known as Yokai, into it. There was a series of 'pop's as ten clones appeared. Naruto looked at them, and they all looked at him. He said the one thing that summed up his feelings on the subject," Kick ass."

The clones nodded, and one said," Indeed. Now, dispel us. We don't want to walk through the blizzard."

Naruto grumbled," Jackasses, all of you are jackasses." He dispelled them, and started back out into the blizzard.

For some reason, it didn't take nearly as long to get out as it did to get in, and within twenty minutes, he saw the hut where his friends waited. He walked towards it, and then saw that the door was kicked in. His mind immediately began thinking of what could have happened, but a foot to his face stopped his thoughts on the subject.

He looked at the man as he stood back up. He stood at least six feet tall, and had pink hair like Sakura or Fubuki. He also carried a blade strapped to his back. He said," You going to try something?"

Naruto said," Who're you?"

The man said," I am Kakuyoku Setsu, and you are my next victim."

Naruto said," Any relations to Kakuyoku Fubuki?"

The man said," She's my twin sister."

Naruto nodded, and said," So, you hold the other half of Rokubi."

Setsu looked at him, and he said," I have a rather unique set of circumstances that allows me to feel Jinchuuriki, and I felt the light half of Rokubi in your sister."

Setsu laughed and said," So, she finally knows, huh? Well, you're right, I hold the dark half of Rokubi. Scared now?"

Naruto said," My father faced down the most powerful of the biju, and you think I'm afraid of half the six-tail? No way." He unsealed Titan and Suzumebachi and said," let's dance."

Setsu said," Well, this is going to be fun, to see your face get that pasty look when you realize that I'm far beyond your league. Die." He jumped forward, already doing hand seals. Titan's powerful fist punched close to him, but he dodged aside. He also dodged the hail of senbon needles that Suzumebachi launched. He finished the hand seals and yelled," Hyoton: Fu-setsu Iwa no Jutsu!"(Ice release: Blizzard Rock technique)

Huge chunks of frozen ice began to swirl around them as the winds picked up, bringing the snow even faster. Naruto looked in awe as the jutsu made the blizzard even worse. Then the chunks of ice began to hit him, shattering into many pieces as they hit, and soon he was surrounded by fist size pieces of ice from the jutsu. Naruto made Titan stomp the ground, bringing up slabs of stone that blocked the projectiles. Naruto sent Suzumebachi after his enemy as he prepared another jutsu. The stinger lanced out and stabbed into the man's abdomen as he finished his jutsu," Hyoton: Hyu-ketsu Hisen no Jutsu!"(ice release: Freezing Falls technique)

The ice above shimmered as they formed into what amounted to freezing sludge that quickly fell down on Naruto, who dodged at the last minute. Setsu said," You are quite good, but we have what we want from this place. I must thank you for returning my sister to me, but your friends will have to remain with us. Don't try anything foolish and you won't get hurt. Just stay away from Doto and you'll be fine."

He used an Hyoton Shunshin to vanish in a swirl of ice flakes. Naruto burst into the hut, but found it deserted. He knew what had happened, his friends were prisoners. He roared to the heavens as he started back out. He had some ice fuckers to kill.

Less than a day after being caught, the group that were with Naruto were standing in six cells in the prison part of Doto's castle. They were near where Koyuki was being held. And the Snow kunoichi, Fubuki, was patrolling the area. As she passed, Hikari said," Why are they holding us? We mean no harm to Doto or you guys."

Fubuki said," I don't know, but I think it has something to do with Naruto. You're all his friends, and he will gladly set his life down for you. I think Doto plans to trap him using you as bait. But I don't know anymore."

Koyuki looked at them, and said," It doesn't matter, we've lost, and it's better to just accept it."

Juugo said," I don't believe that, princess. There is always hope. You are the hope of this country, and yet you sit here brooding."

Fubuki had left when Koyuki began to speak, so the pathway was empty. So they all noticed when there was a blast further down and Naruto landed on the ground in front of them. He prepared a Rasengan and blasted the cells open one by one. He even opened up Koyuki's cell. She looked at him and asked," Why?"

Naruto said," Because no one, not even a stuck up bitch like you, deserves this treatment. Come on, your bodyguards will be here soon."

He led them away, up several stair cases to what looked like a throne room. Naruto saw Setsu there, along with Fubuki, Nadare, and Mizore. He said," Where's Doto, I feel like kicking some serious ass now."

Setsu said," Fubuki, Nadare, Mizore, stand down, I will handle this." He walked forward and unleashed the full power of the dark side of the Rokubi no Tora.

Naruto saw the off-white chakra, and felt something stir within him. This was a fight he longed for, a true test of his power against a good enemy. He said," So, you want to play. I'm sure by now your sister has told you about what I am, and what I hold." He then concentrated, and Kyuubi's blood red chakra appeared around him, forming three tails of power.

Setsu looked at the display, and said," I can see now that Fubuki was right about you. But this is the end for you, Uzumaki Naruto. The one who holds the Kyuubi no Kitsune. You are dangerous, but you cannot control that chakra yet. I can, I've been prepared from a young age to do so. Let's see who is better, the one with more to burn, or the one who controls his better." He launched forward, and at that moment, Koyuki's ninja bodyguards appeared from the same entrance the others came from, and the chair at the top of the dais turned around to reveal Doto, with four people in black cloaks with red clouds on them behind him.

Then there was a crash as the skylight that was set on the roof shattered inward as three people fell through it.

Every eye turned to the three newcomers, and they stood up. One was a tall man with a mostly bald head, but one lock of golden hair curled around from his forehead into an almost complete circle. He had the build of a professional body builder, and wore no shirt whatsoever. He wore blue pants that were somewhat loose. On his hands were knuckle guards that had a strange design etched into them. He flexed, and pink sparkles appeared around him.

The second man was dark skinned, with equally dark hair. His face might have been considered handsome, but for a horrible scar that stretched across his face like a huge 'x'. He was also big, but leaner than the first man, and seemed to not worry about upper body mass like his companion. He wore a shirt, a short sleeved thing that revealed a series of tattoos on his right arm. They looked like intricate designs or a circle of some type. He wore a pair or red sunglasses on his face.

The last man was tall, but not as much as his two companions. He wore a mostly dark outfit, and had a dark cloak about him. Even his countenance was dark, as though as shadow covered his face from view.

Doto said," Who are you to invade my castle?"

The bodybuilder said as he flexed," I am the pride of the Armstrong family, the greatest warrior to ever come from my clan. I am vested in the techniques of the Armstrong family, which goes back for hundreds of years. I am Armstrong Alexander, the strong arm ninja." He finished flexing, and they all sweat dropped.

The dark man said," Don't mind my friend, he's a little insane, runs in the family I suppose. Doto, we are three warriors charged with the task of killing you."

Then he looked at the rest of those that stood there. His eyes rested on Hawkeye, and he said," Kain, is that you?"

The Konoha ninja looked at Hawkeye, and he said," Sorry, but my name's Hawkeye."

The dark man said," Really? Then why do I think you are the long lost son of my best friend?" He walked forward, completely ignoring all the stares he was getting. He pressed his hands up against Hawkeye's forehead, and sighed. He said," I see, amnesia. A really bad case too. Hina is going to kill me for this." He moved away, and said," I would unseal your locked memories, but at this point, it would put you out for too long to be of any use in this fight. Come find me after this is over if you want to have all your memories."

Doto had put up with enough, and yelled," Setsu, Nadare, Mizore, Fubuki, kill those three."

One of the four cloaked men behind him said," You will stand no chance against the dark one. One of us should handle him."

Doto nodded, and they discussed it amongst themselves before the tallest one, with a strange package on his back, threw off his hat, revealing the shark-like face of the Shark of the Mist, Hoshigaki Kisame. He pulled off his sword and unwrapped it, moving down the steps and staring into the dark one's eyes. The four ninja that were attacking stopped as he moved towards them. And Doto yelled out," What are you doing, get those two bigger ones at least."

The four ninja went onto the attack as the dark-skinned one with the scar moved forward and Alexander prepared his fists for combat. The dark man said," Those four don't know what my allies are capable of, Hoshigaki Kisame. These two are the last of their clans, which made their homes in a long forgotten country that has since been consumed by Hi no Kuni and it's name lost. These two clans were famous for their family hijutsu, which revolved around a strange branch of jutsu that has never been replicated by anyone ever before."

As he spoke, the scarred one moved closer to Mizore and grabbed his face, throwing him back as more Snow ninja swarmed the area, and the four bigger ones moved away. The scarred man turned around before grabbing a man's arm and holding on as the designs on his arm began glowing. The dark man continued," Armstrong-san can create a power the likes of which few can top, and my other companion, who refuses to tell me his name, can destroy a person from the inside out with that right arm of his." As he said this, the glow intensified, and the man's arm was literally blown apart by the force. The man fell to the ground, where the scarred one grabbed his throat and used that power again, blowing his head off from the rest of his body, and killing him in an instant.

The dark man smiled and said," You might have heard of these two. Armstrong-san has already given his name as the Strong Arm ninja, but my other friend there is known in all the bingo books by his moniker, Scar."

Kisame said," And who are you, to be in the presence of such famous nins as these?"

The dark man said," I am the thing that goes bump in the night. The one who scares little children when they sleep. I'm that monster that hides in the closet. I am the thing that all men fear, no matter how big or small. I am the Dark Assassin, the true ninja of the shadows. I am Shin Noh."

At those last two words, all fighting stopped. Kisame looked at him and said," You expect me to believe that you are the famous ninja the slaughtered a thousand enemies with a single jutsu a hundred years ago? That man died a long time ago."

Shin smiled and said," Not quite true. One of your own associates in Akatsuki, Kakuzu I believe, has been alive since the time of the Shodaime Hokage. Why can't I have something like he does, hmm?"

Kisame said," Even then, you can still be killed." He raised Samehada and brought it down at him, screaming," DIE!"

A clang was heard, as a sword materialized in Shin's hand. He said," You are careless, Hoshigaki Kisame. I might be known as the Dark Assassin, but to my family I am known by another name. Do you know about this blade?"

The blade in question was a thick piece of work. It had a rectangular blade that was a foot across and three feet long, as well as two inches thick. It seemed to be painted in forest camouflage patterns. Shin continued," My family techniques are rather special if I do say so myself. Throughout this world, there are seven blades that their true wielders used so well, that they literally became a part of the sword, and the sword a part of them. They truly lived and died by the Song of the Sword, which all true swordsmen can hear when they swing their blades. These seven blades, when their true wielder died, they were so close together that something unprecedented happened. The soul of the fallen warrior became one with the blade. My family sword is one of these blades, and this is another of them. This is the great oar, which was wielded by the Samurai Legend, Mushashi(forgot about this, don't own it either). My family hijutsu allows the warrior who wields one of these seven blades, known as the Tsurgi no Rei(spirit sword) to pull on the power and knowledge of the soul trapped within, and those that become head of the family they gain access to the greatest secret of the clan, the art of Genesis. This allows them to become an avatar to the soul within the blade, and literally brings the fallen warrior back to life to fight again. For though others can use these blades, no one but the true wielder can use them to their full power. I hold four of the seven Tsurgi no Rei. This is but one. Can you stand against them, the greatest swords in the known world, and the warriors that are meant to wield them?" With this said, he moved forward, and slashed as Samehada, completely destroying the sword. As the parts fell to the ground, Kisame found himself backing away quickly as Shin continued to slash at him.

Up with Doto, Koyuki was up there handing over the crystal, and attempting to stab Doto, which didn't work so well. Then one of the other three Akatsuki members said to Doto," We were not anticipating such resistance. We will come back later for the Jinchuuriki. If you win this battle, keep the blonde boy there with the puppets alive, we need him." Doto nodded, and the same member yelled," Kisame, we're leaving."

Kisame nodded, and gave his sword pieces one last look before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Doto made his escape, and the four main guards did too. Close to fifty lesser Snow ninja were lying dead on the ground. Naruto moved up to the throne and looked at the window. He prepared for the jump, but said to Kabuto, who was closest," I'm going to go after Doto. He ordered you guys imprisoned to get me, on behalf of Akatsuki I'm sure. Get the others and meet me at the harbor in three days." Kabuto nodded, and Naruto jumped off the cliff in hot pursuit of Doto.

Setsu turned to his sister and said," I feel that we're going to be out of the job soon. What say we make haste away from here?" Fubuki nodded, and they left, going away from Nadare and Mizore. It would be the last time anyone saw Nadare and Mizore alive.

Hours later, Naruto had found Doto, at the rainbow glacier with Koyuki. He had activated the generator that would eventually bring spring to the Land of Snow. He turned around and saw Naruto standing there. He said," What boy, you have something to prove?"

Naruto said," You imprisoned my friends, and for that you will pay." He pulled up his sleeve and revealed all four of his tattoo seals. He channeled Yokai into the armlet to activate it, and with a thought, there was five Naruto instead of one. He unsealed Hanzo, Haku, Sarutobi, and the Sandaime Kazekage. He kept Hanzo for himself and passed off the other three to three of the clones. Then he pulled up the left sleeve further, and revealed a third tattoo, of the kanji for 'Two'. He channeled chakra into it, and with a burst of smoke, Sakon was revealed. He passed it off to the final clone. He said," Doto, your time is up. I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass." The five Naruto charged, each with a human puppet of considerable skill.

Doto tried to fight back with his black dragon blizzard, but it was no good as the five Naruto's seemed to know where each was and covered for each other with their puppets. Then the iron sand got into the chakra armor and shattered it from the inside out, and a blade of ice pierced Doto's back between the shoulder blades. Several more blades stabbed at various spots, and poison seeped into his body. Naruto looked at him with cold eyes, and said," You fuck with the Namikaze, you get the wind." He concentrated, and the wind picked up, infused with his chakra and the Kyuubi's too. It circled around Doto as it picked up speed. Then the wind became razor sharp, and cut Doto into several small pieces. His body fell to the ground as flowers burst from the ground, and a recording of Koyuki and her father played. Naruto saw the director saying that they hadn't gotten here fast enough to get the fight. Naruto smiled, all was as it should be. He had the armlet that Kyuubi had wanted him to get, he had killed a tyrant and freed a country, and his face wouldn't appear in film, so he didn't have to worry about people seeing him unless he wanted to. Life was good.

Three days later, Naruto stood at the harbor with his friends and allies. Koyuki had shown up and thanked him for killing her uncle. He had responded," Doto pissed me off. No one pisses Uzumaki Naruto and gets away with it. Ever."

As he was boarding the boat they had hired to get them away from here into warmer climates, he stopped as two figures came forward. It was Setsu and Fubuki.

Fubuki looked at him with sad eyes, and Setsu looked at him as though thinking. Finally the male twin said," You're leaving?"

Naruto nodded, and Setsu continued," I've not had a fight like the one we had on the snow field in a long time. I thank you for that, and I'm sorry that we never got to finish it."

Naruto looked at him and said," Oh, stop with the whining and get on."

Setsu looked at him, and he said," Akatsuki isn't going to leave you alone. You will always be hunted for what you contain. Come with us, and we'll do our best to protect you."

Setsu said," I need no protection."

Naruto smiled and said," Then take my offer as a chance to get that rematch you want. There's safety in numbers, and you will be up against at least two of the most powerful S-class criminals ever known, probably more."

Setsu looked at his sister, and she nodded. Setsu said," Fine, we'll go with you. We have nothing left here at any rate. Our family will have nothing to do with us ever since the sealing, and..." He stopped as Naruto held up a hand, before saying," Quit whining and come on, the boat's leaving." He went the remainder of the way up onto the deck, and the two Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi no Tora followed.

-0-0-

This was a beast to write. I've only been doing serious writing when I'm dead tired, so this has taken days to finish. A minor case of writers block held things up too. Now, this is the end of the Land of Snow part, and we're going to be diverging more now that it's done. I hope you like my OC Setsu, and Shin. Alexander and Scar are actual characters in the anime/manga Fullmetal Alchemist, and are my favorite characters from that show. My brothers and I just finished watching it and I just had to add them. They won't be showing up all that much, and you should know when they do because of the fact that I'll disclaim Fullmetal whenever they show up. Alexander Armstrong is the lovable big guy who is mostly comic relief, though he is a deadly fighter when pushed. Scar is the second most ultimate badass in anything, after Sephiroth from Final Fantasy seven and Kingdom Hearts(you know when he's in two different things that have almost nothing in common that he is a badass). Now that's enough of that. Setsu comes from the second part of Blizzard, if you can't figure it out from the first jutsu he uses on the snowfield. And last but not least, my special creation known as the Legion Armlet. That whole story about the first five demons and the items to give others their powers, I invented. I got a knife from my uncle for Christmas last year, and it's shaped like a dragon, which gave rise to the idea of these weapons. Plus reading a story about how Naruto becomes Legion through the use of Kage Bushin too. That story is adeptly called I am Legion, and is really good. I kept thinking, he's going to be getting more puppets and such, why not give him a way to create clones that are as powerful as him that cannot be destroyed with one good hit, but needs to actually die to fail? This is the result of this. And if you think I'm making Naruto overpowered, don't. He will fail, and it will happen quite often. He's not infallible, and will make mistakes. Now, I have a question for you all. I'm thinking of creating a new summoning contract. I won't say what yet, but who should get it? It should be someone in Naruto's party, and I want your opinion on this. I'll be posting a poll soon on who should get it. And for the love of Kami, don't send me a lot of reviews and PMs about what contract it should be. I have the contract, just need someone to give it to. Now, I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep. Peace.


	13. Homecoming

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Don't sue me.

Here is chapter thirteen. I forgot to mention at the end of twelve, but this is the chapter when the major time skip happens. This is going to be five years after the last chapter, and the big time skips(more than a year) should end with this. This chapter is called Homecoming, and it is one of the most important moments in my entire story. Now, let's get it on. Chapter thirteen, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

-0-0-

Five years had passed since the land of Snow, known now as the Land of Spring. Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto looked out at the vast wasteland that was the desert of Wind country. Five years since his team was completed. Four years since Naruto had killed Hoshigaki Kisame. Three years since he found out the truth of his heritage from a wandering merchant who had his family tree. Two years since he had cut off Deidara's left arm. And six months since he and Fubuki started dating.

Naruto reflected on his path that had lead to this place, in the middle of the desert. He remembered the battle with Kisame.

-FLASHBACK-

Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame looked at the eight teens arrayed against them, and Itachi said," Uzumaki Naruto, give us the Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi and we will leave in peace. No one needs to die here."

Naruto looked at him, then at his partner, and finally at his team. He said," If I tell you to go fuck yourself, will you take that as an overly generous estimation of your athleticism?"

(that is a part of one of my all-time favorite lines from a TV show. This one comes from Deadwood, which is a great show that my brother watches religiously. Just to let you know. Peace.)

Tayuya and Kin choked, Juugo, Kabuto, and Setsu seemed to grin slightly, and Hikari and Fubuki started giggling into their hands. Naruto himself had a shit-eating grin on his face. Itachi and Kisame were impassive, but Naruto could see a very subtle eye tick above Itachi's right eye. Anyone who wasn't looking would have missed it, and Naruto was fairly certain that Itachi himself wasn't aware he was doing it.

Itachi said," You had your chance. Now, prepare for death." His eyes took on the red with black tomoe of the Sharingan. Naruto said," you think a fancy eye tick is going to impress me? Think again." He pulled up his sleeve, revealing his tattoos. He pressed the one that said Twin, and channeled chakra into it. Sakon appeared in a blast of smoke. Kisame pulled off his replacement of Samehada, which was just like the original, and Itachi got out two kunai, one to each hand. Naruto said," You guys handle Itachi. I've got the shark man."

They each knew that voice, it was the sound of Naruto when he was going to get a new puppet. He wanted the shark as a puppet. The group looked at each of them, and with a burst of speed, they started going at it.

Itachi dodged a blast of water, a blast of ice, and several chunks of ice within the first few seconds. Then Kin, Tayuya, Kabuto, and Juugo was on him. Kin pulled back and threw several senbon. These weren't like her original ones. These were dipped in a powerful poison that will kill within minutes. But Itachi dodged them all with practiced ease. Juugo and Tayuya pulled upon the power of the cursed seal and continued attacking with Taijutsu. Then Itachi brought it up a notch as he activated his more powerful Sharingan. He looked right into Setsu's eyes and said," Tsukyomi."

For a second, there was nothing, then Itachi dropped back, clutching his eyes. Setsu said," You like them? They are a gift from Rokubi. I call them Habamugan.(block eye) They protect me from any Doujutsu in the world. Your Sharingan doesn't work on me, and without it, you are weakened." He moved forward and made several hand seals before yelling," Hyoton: Fu-setsu Iwa no Jutsu!"(Ice Release: Blizzard Rock technique)

water began to shift in the air around them as snow and ice formed. The blizzard picked up speed as Setsu focused his chakra into making more ice and snow. Large chunks of ice began to hit Itachi, and he moved away, making hand seals, his eyes still shut. He said," Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"(Fire Release: Great Fireball technique)

A huge fireball shot out and incinerated the ice and snow, creating water and steam in their place. Then he looked at Kisame and realized that it was bad.

While the other seven were fighting Itachi, Naruto was dueling Kisame. He had separated Sakon from his brother Ukon and was using them in tandem to hold off Kisame. Kisame was using his Samehada to try to cut the chakra strings, but it wasn't going so well. Then one of the two puppets got behind him and grabbed his arms before fading into Kisame. Kisame began freaking out as Naruto pulled out a kunai dripping with poison and said," Hoshigaki Kisame, you have lost. You will die for your overconfidence. Don't try to move, Ukon is in control of your body, and you don't have the time to overpower him. Goodbye." He rushed forward and stabbed his kunai forward, just nicking Kisame's cheek. Kisame grew cold as he realized that he was going to die. Then the poison reached his brain, and he was dead.

Itachi looked at him, and then vanished in a swirl of leaves. The other seven members of his team came around to him, and he stared at Kisame's body. He pulled off his ring, before slipping it onto his finger. He said," We are going to kill each of the Akatsuki members that come after us. If you kill one, take the ring from their finger, and remember which finger it was. These rings have a purpose in their organization, and if we get enough of them we can stop their plans. Let's leave this place and find somewhere more quiet, I have a new puppet to make."

-END FLASHBACK-

Naruto saw Suna in the distance, and smiled. Soon, he would be coming home. He reflected on the merchant who had shown him the truth of his origins.

-FLASHBACK-

Naruto was walking alone through a small village when a voice said," Excuse me young man, but could you come here?"

Naruto looked to see an old man standing there next to his cart. He moved over towards the old man, and said," Yes?"

The old man said," I happen to have some rather special scrolls I have collected throughout the elemental nations, and I think I've seen someone that looks like you in one of them. If you would, let me see if it's true."

He began looking through the scrolls, and soon pulled one out and handed it to Naruto. He said," Yes, right here." He pointed to a small picture at the bottom of a family tree. Naruto looked at it, Namikaze Minato. Naruto said," So, this is my family, huh?"

The old man looked at him, and he clarified," That's my Tou-san right there." He motioned to Minato. The old man nodded, and started pushing his cart away. Naruto tried to give him the scroll back, but he just said," Keep it. It's your family, something you don't know enough about. I hope that helps you." He wandered off.

Naruto looked at the little piece of family history he had found. Then he noticed a name further up the tree. He grinned, finally he knew the truth. There, within the first three tiers, was a man he knew of rather well. Chikamatsu Monzaemon, the original master of puppetry.

-END FLASHBACK-

Naruto and his team was close to Suna now, and he could see the guards. He reflected on what might have been his second greatest achievement, short of asking Fubuki out on a date. His defeat and disarming(no pun intended) of Deidara of Iwa.

-FLASHBACK-

Naruto looked at Deidara and Sasori. They had shown up at a small village that had rumors of his staying here. They had shown up, and had moved against him as he rested at a nice fountain in the middle of town. Naruto said," You know, I was enjoying my quiet time before I head to Suna. Why couldn't you just wait for me there. After all, you still need Ichibi too, I know that."

Sasori said," You don't have any of your allies here, and you still think you can take the two of us? We are S-class criminals, you stand no chance despite you being rather skilled in puppetry."

Naruto smiled at the scorpion and said," You flatter me. But flattery will not get you my cooperation. You want to subdue me, you'll have to do more than threaten." He stood up and cracked his neck.

Sasori was about to answer, but Deidara moved against him faster, and launched a clay bomb at him before detonating it. He was covered in smoke.

Sasori said," You do know we are supposed to capture them alive, right?"

Deidara nodded, but as they looked at the smoke, they saw that Naruto was no where to be seen. Naruto appeared behind them and said," Kage Bushin, gotta love them."

Sasori said," So, you managed to escape that. Interesting. How did you manage it?"

Naruto smiled and said," I keep at least three clones close to me under henge. I can perform Kawarami without hand seals, so I simply replace myself with one of them. And before anyone can notice, I make another clone."

He looked around, and said," But there is just one problem with this whole thing. You show up and try to capture me, and the town gets demolished in the process. I don't want to get any property damaged, so what do you say we take this out of the village at least before we try to kill each other."

Sasori smirked within Hiruko. He said," What, you're afraid of these filth getting in the way? Then that gives us incentive to stay here. You can't escape, and you won't go all out against us with the possibility of collateral damage. No deal."

Naruto sighed and said," Well, then I guess I have no choice. I'll let you in on a little secret. This town doesn't exist. These people, these building, they were all placed here so that I could fight against you without fear. Let's dance."

They were slightly confused, until one of the buildings went up in smoke to reveal a group of clones where it had been. Villagers became copies of Naruto, and Sasori and Deidara knew they were in trouble. There was literally hundreds of clones, all surrounding them. Then Deidara felt a shift in air and moved aside. Not nearly enough though as a decapitator kunai slid through right arm, severing it from his body. He screamed in unholy rage and pain as Naruto used a string to pull the arm to him, and he passed off the appendage to another Naruto, who passed it off too, until the arm was far away from the battle.

Sasori saw that his partner was in no condition to fight, so he grabbed him with a puppet hand and disappeared in a swirl of wind.

Naruto sighed as he looked at the arm. He absently sent a mental command to his clones to disperse, and they disappeared from the face of the earth with not a sound or a sight of smoke. Naruto slipped the ring off the finger of the missing nin's arm, and left the arm on the ground. As he strode away, he made some hand seals and incinerated the arm for good measure. He slipped the ring onto his own finger. Two down, eight to go.

-END FLASHBACK-

Naruto looked at the guard standing before them. He said," Identification and reason for visiting?"

Naruto strode forward and said," A friend of Sabaku no Gaara and his family, with friends to see him." He handed over the identification of his team, and they were waved in, the guard welcoming friends of the Kazekage. Naruto smiled, Gaara had gotten the respect of his village. His eyes darkened as he remembered his own village, and he vowed to that one day it would burn, his Kyuubi puppet standing over it in honor of the demon that nearly did the same. He almost began cackling, but the sight of Suna stretched out before him stopped him. He breathed in the air, and felt his soul become happy once again as only a few things to do. Fubuki, his friends, and his true home were the only things that could do it.

He began walking towards the tower where Gaara would be. He entered the tower at the head of his team, and soon was in front of the doors leading to Gaara's office. The secretary looked at him, and he smiled, making her swoon. Naruto knew he was handsome now, and had no qualms about using that to get what he wanted. He said," I was wondering if my friends and I could speak with the Kazekage for a while. Is he available?"

The secretary jumped up and said," Let me just check." She opened the door and stuck her head in, asking if he would see them. She reappeared and waved them in, saying it was OK.

Naruto and his group strode through the doors and into Gaara's office. Gaara was sitting on a couch as another Gaara did paperwork. But what he was doing that caught the attention of the group. He was cooing, yes COOING, at a small baby in a crib. He looked up and saw Naruto and his team. His eyes grew wide as he stood and said," Is that you, Uzumaki?"

Naruto smiled warmly, and said," yes, it's me. I see you have had some things come into your life."

Gaara gave him a smile as well, and said," Indeed. I've been Kazekage for four years now."

Naruto said," I wasn't referring to that. I was referring to, um, HER." He motioned to the small girl in the crib.

Gaara gave a tired smile and said," She's a real handful. But that's what I love about her and her mother."

Naruto embraced his adoptive brother and said," So, you married?"

Gaara nodded, and said," The wind Daiymo's daughter actually. It was a marriage of opportunity. She hated me when it was first suggested, and I didn't care for her either. But we came to love each other. We married each other last spring, mostly because she was already on the way." He nodded at his daughter. He continued," I've been watching little Ayame since her mother went to visit her own father for a few days. You'll have to meet her when she returns."

Naruto said," I might like that. So, anything else happen? I've been out of touch."

Gaara nodded, and said," A year ago, Akatsuki found me. I was captured, and Shukaku extracted. Konoha ninja, that Haruno girl, and some others came and tried to help free me before the extraction could happen. But it was too late, and I died there."

Naruto looked amazed, but motioned for him to continue. He complied," It was the work of one of our elders, Chiyo, that saved me. She developed a jutsu that could raise the dead itself, but at the cost of the user's life. She originally wanted to use it on her own grandson, who you should know. Akasuna no Sasori." Naruto nodded tightly, and Gaara continued," So now I'm here, and without my demon any more. Although death wasn't that fun, my life has been so much better since then."

Gaara leaned forward and said," I have some other news, but I know that's what you wanted to here. Now, I am rather busy, so tell me why you came to visit now?"

Naruto said," I found my family tree, and it brought up some interesting facts about my ancestry. I've officially come to claim what is mine, but unofficially I'm here to visit my real home."

Gaara quirked an eyebrow, but he didn't interrupt. Naruto continued," Here." He handed over the scroll that held his family tree. Gaara looked at it, and his eyes widened slightly when he saw the name of Chikamatsu Monzaemon. He said," So, you're here for his puppetry things?"

Naruto nodded, and Gaara said," Well, the council has to know of this. I will call a meeting for tomorrow so they can decide on if your claim is true or not. Though this is the mark of the Chikamatsu clan, so the council really won't have much to say on it. It's just protocol. For now, you can stay at my clan house. I'll have the needed things gathered, and have them given to you after the meeting tomorrow. Oh, one word of advice. Do not eat Temari's cooking. You will be sick." He called in a Jounin to show them to his clan house, and it was Kankuro. When he saw Naruto, he nodded, and led them away.

As they moved through the streets, Kankuro asked," So, any new puppets, Naruto-Otouto?"

Naruto grumbled at being called little brother, but a nudge from Fubuki made him answer," I have two new human puppets, and am planning on building another normal puppet from my sketch book when I get a few days to work in peace. So, Kankuro, anything special happen in your life recently?"

Kankuro said," No."

Naruto was struck by the short answer, then said," Nothing at all? Anyone special in your life?"

Kankuro said," No."

Naruto said," Who stuck a stick up your ass, Kankuro-Nii-san? You need to get laid, it'll do wonders for your disposition."

Kankuro choked on air when he said that, and he turned to Naruto saying," You speaking from experience, Otouto?"

Naruto nodded, before pulling in Fubuki for a one-armed hug. He said," Yep." He couldn't keep the smugness out of his voice.

Kankuro produced anime-style tears as he realized that his adopted brother was ahead of him in the quest for women that all men went through. And his own little brother had a wife and kid. It wasn't fair. He quickly changed the subject to what puppet he was going to make next. Naruto began explaining his newest idea, a puppet that looked like a swordsman. The two bantered back and forth as they walked the street, the other seven behind them smiling at the scene. Fubuki was a little embarrassed by Naruto's words earlier, but couldn't really deny it.

They arrived at the clan house, and Kankuro suddenly paled as he realized," Naruto, did Gaara tell you anything about Temari?"

Naruto said," just to not eat her cooking. Anything he missed?"

Kankuro said," Well, it's just that Gaara isn't the only one whose married since you left Konoha. Temari has a husband, and is expecting. Just do not pick fights with her husband, and do not comment on her size, she will murder you in your sleep if you do. A chunin happened to express his opinion on it a few weeks ago. We found him nailed to a post in the middle of the village the next day with his clothes off, his 'package' destroyed, and his eyes and mouth screaming his pain out to the world. He was as dead as any of Gaara's victims, and just as messy."

Naruto nodded, his hand reaching for his own 'package' as he did, the movement mirrored by every male in the group. Kankuro opened the door and yelled," Sis, where are you?"

Temari's voice snapped back," I'm in the kitchen. I'm cooking dinner tonight. Pick up your dolls from the living room or I'll shove them up your ass."

Tayuya grinned, her kind of girl.

Kankuro mumbled about damned sisters and their orders, then said," We'll order out tonight. There's a deli that will deliver through an upstairs window. Do not accept food from her."

Temari yelled," Who're you talking to, Kankuro?"

Kankuro yelled back," We have some guests of the Kazekage. Where's your husband?"

A third voice answered from the kitchen, and it sounded familiar to Naruto, Juugo, and Hikari, though none could place it," I'm with Temari. Come and bring them in, we'll get the introductions out of the way." the voice mumbled something at the end, followed by a smack being heard, like an open palm striking scalp.

Kankuro said," Remember, no fighting the husband, and do not talk about her size. She's carrying twins." He led the way into the kitchen, and said," Temari, here's the guests. You know at least one of them, so do you..." He trailed off as the two groups saw the others. Naruto's eyes grew wide as he took in the sight of one Nara Shikamaru, in Chunin attire, standing next to the very **round** Temari with an arm around her.

Shikamaru looked at the older version of the blonde menace as he was called around Konoha. He saw the resemblance between him and the Yondaime Hokage. He had figured out a lot of the things that weren't said about Naruto. He was a genius after all. He said," Troublesome blonde." He got another smack from his wife upside the head.

Naruto smiled at his old friend, and said," So, a Suna ninja now?"

Shikamaru sighed and said," Officially, I'm a Konoha/Suna ninja, one of a few ninja from one village that lives in an allied village to promote understanding, but Konoha has pretty much dropped me since last year."

Naruto nodded, and sat down. He said," So, tell me what's been happening?"

Shikamaru gave the information on what was happening since he had been banished. He had found out about Sasuke defecting to Orochimaru, Orochimaru taking another body so he could better train Sasuke, and the Akatsuki's movements. He heard about Asuma and Kurenai becoming an official couple, then Asuma dying at the hands of Hidan and Kakuzu. He had later helped kill the two of them. Naruto said," Did you get the rings from them?" Shikamaru nodded, and told him that they were being held by Konoha. Naruto nodded, and motioned for him to continue. He learned of Kurenai's child, and then about Jiraiya dying at the hands of the leader of Akatsuki, Pain. He snarled when he heard of that, and chalked it up as another thing he would have to kill Pain for. He learned of Deidara fighting against Sasuke when he went training in the field. Sasuke had barely escaped with his life, and Deidara was near dead when he was found. He was taken to Konoha for questioning, but later escaped. At the end of the tale, Shikamaru had told him," The council of Konoha has asked that you be brought back, but Tsunade refuses to send out hunter-nin to find you. She knows that most would kill you if given the chance, and it scares her."

Naruto nodded, and felt the beginning of a plan forming. It involved him returning to Konoha on the pretense of rejoining, but with the stipulation that he get the Akatsuki rings if he did. He stomped on that thought as soon as he thought it. He refused to return to that hell hole no matter what the possibilities were.

As the talks winded down, the door in the front opened, and Gaara and a woman that Naruto didn't recognize entered, little Ayame in her arms. They came into the dining room, and saw the large group. Gaara said," Uzumaki Naruto, this is my wife, Melinda. Melinda, this is Uzumaki Naruto, my first friend." Temari and Kankuro winced at that, but it was barely noticeable. Melinda was a beautiful woman, and was very tolerant of everything. Temari was heard complaining twenty minutes later because she hadn't been paying attention to her cooking, and it was ruined. She ordered Shikamaru to get her some chocolate ice cream with strawberries to make up for distracting her with his talks. Shikamaru knew better than to question it, and went out to find a frozen treat in a desert village and a succulent fruit in a place with no rain most of the time.

As they ate some nice take out later, and with Shikamaru grumbling because of 'troublesome blonde wives setting the most troublesome tasks because of troublesome hormones', Naruto asked Gaara," I forgot to ask when I was in the office, but I was wondering if Suna would like to help me start up a new hidden village."

Gaara didn't even bat an eyelid at that, though the others were gaping, even his own team. Gaara said," Why do you want to make a new hidden village? And where would it be?"

Naruto said," I've always wanted to be Hokage. That was my dream until five years ago when I was banished. But I will still become a Kage of some variety, and what better way than to build my own village. No offense Gaara, but with you as Kazekage, I'm not likely to get your position any time soon, so I'm not going to be staying here permanently. I'm getting my heritage and seeing if Suna will help me set up a new village with me as the head, and then I'm gone one way or the other."

Gaara nodded, then said," You still haven't told me where this hidden village will be."

Naruto nodded, and said," I plan on it being in Rice Field country."

Gaara asked," You know Oto is there, right?"

Naruto smirked and said," And that brings me to how you will help. I'm going to crush Orochimaru. Will you help me with that?"

Gaara said," You're ally Sasuke is there as well."

"Former ally. He betrayed Konoha, and abandoned it. I was banished. Neither of us have any attachment to the Leaf any more."

"Very well then. I will have to ask the council. You are asking for us to essentially go to war with Oto. Though it is a small village, it is still dangerous."

"I know. But Orochimaru has been a thorn in my side for too long already. I'm going to destroy him, and all those that serve him. If the Uchiha gets in my way, then I'm on my way to wiping out the Sharingan. I'll destroy Konoha someday, or smile as it burns for what it's done to me, and Kakashi will die then. Itachi will continue after me, so I'm going to kill him. Maybe I'll mail his head to Sasuke if he's not dead at that time."

Gaara nodded, and everyone else knew he was dead serious. Gaara said," Well, it's late. I have some rooms set up for you already. Follow." He stood, and the others did the same.

Naruto said," Me and Fubuki sleep in the same room. Is that a problem?"

Gaara shook his head, and they all went to sleep.

The next morning at ten, the council was gathered. This was mostly made up of former shinobi who've retired from active duty. But there were a few civilians of high standing.

Naruto stated his case before them, both on his heritage, including the story of how he got the scroll he found his family tree on, and his first trip to Suna when he was five, and his feeling of belonging there as soon as he saw the village. He also explained to them his plan to eliminate Orochimaru and create his own village from the ashes of Oto. By the end of it, the council was nodding along with it. Then they deliberated for a few minutes, and the spokesman said," We find that you are indeed the descendant of our original puppet master, Chikamatsu Monzaemon. But I'm curious, how did you know you were related to the Yondaime Hokage? When you visited twelve years ago, it was said that you didn't know your family."

Naruto said," I learned of my father about two months before my banishment from Konoha, and began using his name during the Chunin exams. I learned it from a letter that was left for me from my Tou-san, kept by Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi. I also was told of it by my father's teacher, the Sannin Jiraiya. I hope that is enough proof for you, for it all I have to prove it."

the council nodded, and the spokesman said," You have given us enough proof. Your belongings are in the office of the Kazekage as of this morning." He spared a sardonic smile for Gaara, then continued," Now, on your wanting our support in defeating Orochimaru and setting up a new hidden village in Rice Field country..."

Naruto interrupted," I really don't need help on the killing Orochimaru part. It's mostly just a favor of you. I need to meet the Lord of Rice and get him to agree to this after Sound is no more. I also want to be allowed to teach the art of puppetry in my new village."

The council started jabbering amongst themselves, but the spokesman said," Why would you want that of all things?"

Naruto answered easily," I plan on my personal guards to be able to use puppetry. I plan on naming this village Ayatsuriningyogakure, the village hidden in the Puppet. I and my guards would be using puppetry, plus any who wish to learn it when we get to be a bit more populous."

The council talked it over, and then the spokesman said," It is agreed to. We will allow you to teach puppetry. You have not betrayed our confidences yet, and you ask for little. I only ask that you don't spread it around too much. I'm still angry at that Haruno girl using it against our orders. How did she learn it, may I ask?"

Naruto said," She was taught by Akasuna no Sasori, as Deidara, his partner, who captured your Kazekage last year, taught another named Sai. They are both members of Danzo's Root ANBU, and Danzo protects them since he is responsible for them. He owns the council of Konoha, or did when I was banished. I found that it was him that arranged for my banishment."

The council nodded, having heard of the old War Hawk. Gaara dismissed the council to their business when it was clear they were done.

Naruto met up with his team in the Kazekage's office, to see that there were three scrolls. One was a storage scroll, one was a standard scroll for writing, and the last was much larger. Naruto said," What are these?"

Gaara sat down and picked up the standard scroll. He said," This is the notes that Chikamatsu Monzaemon wrote on puppetry. It hasn't been available to the general population for years, deemed to powerful. It is for clan eyes only." He placed it down and picked up the storage scroll. He said," This was in the possession of Chiyo, our elder puppet master, and Grandmother of Akasuna no Sasori. We managed to retrieve it before Sasori or Haruno could claim it. It is the White Secret Art: Dance of Ten Puppets(I know it's in English and probably wrong anyway, but I'll change it sometime in the near future). It is Chikamatsu Monzaemon's greatest work." He replaced it and motioned to the final scroll," This is the Chikamatsu clan summoning contract. Since you are the last remaining member of the clan, you can let someone else use it, but they will have to pass the test. I know you already have the Salamander contract, so you should let another sign it."

Naruto looked at each, and thought about it. Juugo was out, he needed no more strength, and had a summoning contract already. Hikari was strong enough in her own right, and didn't need a summoning contract of a clan from Suna, when she was mostly a water user. Tayuya had her Doki, and her illusions, so she was out. Kabuto was their medic, and didn't fight unless needed. He was still very strong, and his fighting style was all wrong for a summoning contract. He might even have the Snake contract, though Naruto's never seen it if he does. Setsu and Fubuki didn't need it, with the power of the Rokubi in them. That left Kin. She, despite getting better with ninjutsu and more potent genjutsu, was still the weakest member of the team. She had moderate chakra reserves, and her control was near perfect for her level. He smiled, he knew who would get it. He said," Kin, if you want, you can sign it."

Kin was bouncing as she went up to sign the contract. After she was finished, they went out to a training field to see her first summoning. She bit her thumb and ran through the seals after being shown, and slammed her palm down while yelling," Kuchinose no Jutsu.(do I need to say it). A pillar of smoke appeared, and when it cleared...(I could be evil and end it here, but I'm not going to)

An elephant that was about two feet taller than Juugo, which was something. Everyone looked at the summon as the gray skinned animal looked at them all. Then it snorted, and said," What, never seen an elephant before?"

-0-0-

This was much easier to write. I guess it's because I wanted to write this FOREVER. I hope you liked that, and all the twists it brings with it. The next chapter will be out soon, and is called Sound Defeat(corny, I know). I hope you liked that summon. I also hope you liked that bit on Naruto being related to the first puppet master. I had that idea in my head since chapter one. I'm glad I finally got to reveal it to you. Did I do a good job on killing Kisame, and taking off Deidara's arm? I think I did, but tell me what you think of it. Now, it's late, and I'm tired. So, goodnight. Peace.


	14. Sound Defeat

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist. Don't sue me.

Here is chapter fourteen. In this, we have the invasion of Oto and Naruto's killing of the Snake Sannin Orochimaru. Now, let's get it on. Chapter fourteen, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

* * *

Three days later, Naruto and his group stood with the Kazekage and his family outside Oto. Naruto said," If they attempt to attack, kill them. Show no mercy at all." The group nodded, and with a burst of speed, they were gone.

On the other side of Oto, three figures looked at the village. Shin Noh, Armstrong Alexander, and Scar were prepared for battle. Shin said," Let's move." With a blur, they disappeared.

Naruto made his way towards where he assumed Orochimaru was. He was prepared for a battle, and had his puppets ready to go at a moments notice. He saw three Oto shinobi standing at the end of the alley about three seconds before they saw him. With a roar, they charged.

Naruto pulled out senbon and threw with lethal accuracy, getting one shinobi in the abdomen, another in the neck and stomach. The last was almost to him when he jumped onto the wall and grabbed a kunai in his hand, aiming to decapitate him. His blade cut through the jugular and the shinobi was dead in moments. Naruto continued on.

Fubuki and Setsu moved through the streets, aiming towards what they thought was a prison of some sorts. The two of them saw a group of shinobi waiting at the entrance to the place, and then the shinobi saw them, and the battle was on.

Fubuki made some hand seals to create a snowstorm, to help her brother with his more destructive jutsu. With a cry of "Fu-setsu Iwa no Jutsu!" Setsu made the most of his sisters ability. Fubuki pulled out her senbon with ice bombs on them and threw at the shinobi as the jutsu hit them as well. It was a massacre. Body parts flew all over the place as the snow and ice ripped through them. Then there was but one man standing. He pulled back his arms and let loose a blast of sound at the two twins, forcing them back. Then he moved forward with a kunai held ready, aiming for Setsu's neck as he struggled back up against the dizziness.

Kin and Kabuto were teamed up, and moving towards the tower where Orochimaru had to be. In front of them was a sixteen foot tall elephant, clearing the path of villagers and ninja. It also cleared the path of any buildings that happened to be in the way. Kabuto and Kin were killing the nin that lived through the elephant's charge. Then they were at the tower, and saw there were three men in strange cloaks in front of them. They pulled the hoods off, to reveal three men with Oto headbands. Then the cloaks came off, and thrown to the side as one jumped and threw a wind slice at the elephant, causing it to dispel. As he landed, the man said," You two are betrayers of Oto, and for that, you will die."

Juugo and Hikari were moving through the streets, aiming to take out as many ninja as possible. Hikari was making water collect around the heads of their enemies, drowning them to death. Juugo had stage one of the cursed seal active, and was destroying his enemies with physical damage. Then two people landed in front of them from the rooftops, and drew their weapons. One was a pale boy who had shark-like teeth and Zabuza's sword on his back, which he drew. The other was an even paler boy who looked sick, but drew two bones from his palms anyway. The first boy said," Yo, I'm Suigetsu, and this is Kimimaro. We're going to be killing you today."

The two of them attacked at that. Suigetsu aimed to cut Hikari in half, and Kimimaro struck at Juugo. The two defended against the onslaught, then countered, and the battle was on.

Tayuya had found one of her worst enemies. Karin. The red head girls looked at each other, and Tayuya said," Is there no way to not do this?"

Karin shook her head, and said," I'm sorry, but no."

Tayuya said," I'm sorry, but I'm going to beat you and get to Orochimaru."

Karin said," I look forward to you trying, little sister."

Tayuya pulled out her flute and summoned the Doki. Karin merely produced two kunai in one hand and several senbon in the other. Then at an unspoken signal, they began their attacks, Karin throwing her senbon as she dodged the first of the Doki. Tayuya jumped aside of the senbon, and the kunai as they came at her as well. She continued to play her song, driving the Doki to attack her sister. They were prepared to kill the other for their ideals.

With Naruto, he had made it to the tower, and began scaling it. He had to dodge several kunai from those on rooftops, but it was pretty easy for him. Then he decided to go big, and jumped away from three Jounin coming down the tower. He landed on the rooftops, and pulled his Kyuubi scroll out. He channeled chakra, and there was a cloud of smoke as he made clones with the armlet. He gave the order through his mental link with the clones, and the mighty puppet attacked.

Inside the tower, Orochimaru looked out at the battle, and felt a real fear for his life. He smirked as Sasuke entered, and he said," It seems that we have a rodent problem today. Find someone in the invaders and kill them. I'm going after the Kyuubi puppet." Sasuke nodded, and left to find some of Naruto's allies.

Naruto felt a presence on his puppet as soon as the man landed, and he looked to see Orochimaru standing there. Naruto said," Well, I was going to go find you, but it seems that I don't need it." He made a final clone and set it the task of taking up his position. He had figured out long ago how to use this puppet efficiently, and it now required only five clones with normal strings. He could possibly work the puppet by himself, but it would be difficult. Naruto unsealed Sarutobi and Hanzo, before he said," Orochimaru, you will pay for killing the man who I considered a grandfather. DIE!"

He launched Hanzo first, starting the seals for a jutsu as he did so. Hanzo thrust his hand forward, and Orochimaru simply leaned back and it stopped short. Orochimaru's eyes widened as a blade popped out from below the wrist of the puppet, and shot forward right at his face. He dodged aside, and felt a wave of heat hit him. He stumbled back as Sarutobi went on the attack. He used his snake hand jutsu to block the three senbon shot out of a small hole in Sarutobi's wrist. Then a mud river flowed from the old Hokage's mouth at him. He dodged aside, and pulled out Kusanagi. He launched forward at Naruto, aiming to take his head off. Naruto dodged by dropping towards the puppet and rolling out of the way as his two puppets came back towards the Snake Sannin. Orochimaru dodged several jutsu and poisoned weapons, and bit his thumb before running through his seals and summoning a medium snake to attack the puppets. Naruto countered by summoning the salamander that helped him so long ago against Sasori and his team during the invasion. The two summons fell off the puppet as the salamander barreled into the snake. Naruto sent a command to his clones to use the tails to cut the tower, and they did. The top part of the tower fell, right towards Orochimaru. He dodged aside as Naruto unsealed another puppet, this one from a scroll.

Fubuki and Setsu were battling the Jounin, and weren't doing so well. They were being pushed back by the blasts of sound from him, unable to keep a steady attack up, they were stuck on defensive. Then the enemy upped the ante with a cry of," Ninpou: Chusha no Oto Nami(ninja art: sound wave shot)"

They didn't see what happened when he did it, but they both felt several blasts of displaced air hit them, and a hypersonic sound wave hit them and assaulted their inner ears, causing huge amounts of pain. They both fell to the ground, holding their ears as the Jounin approached.

He was almost to them when from out of nowhere a large man with tanned skin and a scar on his face came forward and grabbed his hand, a tattoo on his arm glowing as he calmly blew the offending appendage off. The Jounin fell back as Scar got into a loose Taijutsu stance, before he charged at him.

Hikari and Juugo were fighting against the two Oto ninja. Hikari dodged another strike from Kubikiri Houcho and she was getting really, really pissed. And no one got her pissed without suffering for it. She said," You dare to use a sword that should be resting with it's true wielder. You are lower than dirt."

Suigetsu just laughed and said," So what if I am. You're going to die by this blade. I am the next coming of Zabuza, and it's only fitting that I'll use his blade now that he can't."

Hikari jumped back as he swiped at her stomach, and said," You aren't the next coming of Zabuza. You are a little boy who tries to play in the big world. And you are not worthy of even saying Zabuza's name, much less using his sword. I know that."

Suigetsu was getting royally pissed at this girl who kept dodging his attacks, and he snarled," You don't know anything. How in the world would you know any of that."

Hikari rolled under his guard, and slashed at his knees with a kunai. It splashed through him, and he chuckled. He stopped when she mirrored his sounds. She stood up and said," I know because I served under him for a long time. He was my teacher, and he gave me, my sister Kairi, and another orphan called Haku a purpose. He took me out of Kiri when I would have been killed for my bloodline. You aren't worthy of being called his legacy. His legacy lives on, in the body of Haku which our leader uses for his own purpose. Our leader wishes to see Oto burn, and as I did for Zabuza before him, I will see it happen for the master that gave me a life, a purpose." She slid into a stance and said," I know your secret, Suigetsu. You can make your body into water on command. Unfortunately, you have met your match in the form of the one of the two clans that can beat that."

Suigetsu sneered, and said," And how do you plan on beating that, little girl."

Hikari smiled and said," Before you die, let me tell you my name. You should recognize it. I am Jaguchi Hikari, and I hold the Jaguchi Yusei Kekkei Genkai(water tap control bloodline limit)."

Suigetsu actually got scared when she said that she had that bloodline. It was thought to be extinct, killed in the bloodline cleansing of Kiri. He knew in that moment that he was royally fucked. His ability was a bloodline too, but the Hyoton and Jaguchi Yusei Kekkei Genkai were his natural enemies. He watched as she shot forward, and he raised his sword to swing down at her. As he moved it down to chop her in half, she turned to the side and dodged it, leaving it embedded in the ground. She swiped with two kunai that appeared in her hand like magic, and his body turned to water upon contact. She immediately used her bloodline to collect the water and jumped back, knowing it was all she needed. She began to move the water, striking it against him like a whip(if you need a visual reference, it is like the Water Whip ability from Avatar, the Last Airbender(if you haven't watched that, I'm sorry, I know it can be annoying to hear references you don't understand)). With each pass, more water gathered into the whip, and before long, she separated the whip into two, doubling the effectiveness of the technique. Suigetsu felt himself becoming smaller and smaller, until he couldn't shrink any more, and parts of him went missing as the water continued. Then she finished him off, his body nothing but a mass of water now. She knew that she couldn't let it up though. He would reform as soon as she did. She intended for Naruto to use Haku to freeze him, then casting the frozen man into the hottest place she could find, preferably a volcano.

While Suigetsu was being beaten by Hikari, Juugo and Kimimaro were also going at it. Juugo had his curse seal up to one, and Kimimaro had his up to two. The two of them were giving it their all, but Kimimaro was slowing down. His sickness was coming back to haunt him. Juugo saw him hack up blood, and knew it wasn't his hits that did it. He lowered the seal, and said," You're ill." It wasn't a question.

Kimimaro said," I doesn't matter. I will fight for Orochimaru-sama's ideals. You cannot stop that."

Juugo said," What is your sickness."

"Tuberculosis. I know there is no cure for it."

Juugo looked at him, and said," You are wrong. Tuberculosis is treatable. I know of at least three people who have had it fixed by our medic, Kabuto-san."

Kimimaro said," This isn't a trick to fool me?"

Juugo shook his head, and said," No. Our leader keeps a collection of organs, and has had at least three people treated for their Tuberculosis, by our medic. Stop this madness, swear allegiance to Naruto, and he will have you healed if it's not too late."

Kimimaro thought about it. He couldn't explain it, but something made him want to believe it. He said," Fine. But if this Naruto cannot have me healed, I will be allowed to take your life."

Juugo nodded, and shook his hand. Kimimaro's seal regressed back to it's pre-released state.

With Tayuya, the two red heads were going at it, snarling at each other. Karin had long dispelled the Doki, and was now fighting against the flute user directly. She was stuck on defense for the time being, unable to play the song to put her older sister into a Genjutsu.

Then she fell to the ground as Karin raised a kunai and attempted to stab her in the throat.

Out of nowhere, a large hand got between the two, metal plates on it's glove blocking the dangerous knife. Karin looked up to see the steel gray eyes and sole lock of blonde hair of Armstrong Alexander. The strong arm ninja pushed her back and gave a magnificent flex, causing his shirt, a tight blue one with lots of tassels, to shred into nothingness. His body gave off pink sparkles as he made the flex again, showing off his powerful muscles. He said," I am the pride of the Armstrong family, the scion of our family techniques, and none surpass me in their use. I am Armstrong Alexander, the Strong Arm Ninja." He opened his eyes, and more sparkles appeared. Karin sweatdropped at the scene. She pulled out another kunai, and threw it at the big man. He punched it, and there was a flash of light as something happened. When the light cleared, her kunai was no where to be seen. The big man looked at her, and charged.

With Kin and Kabuto, they were pushed into a corner. Kin had poisoned one of the men arrayed against them, and Kabuto cut the jugular vein with a chakra scalpel, but the remaining men, and several more who had joined in, had them backed up against the wall, figuratively and literally. Then the men parted as Uchiha Sasuke moved through them. They knew better than get in his way. He sneered at the two of them, and said," Pathetic. But I need to keep up my skills. Try to keep me amused." He pulled out his sword, and shot lightning chakra through it. He charged at the two, aiming to kill. They were shocked, and couldn't move. He reared back to strike.

And hit steel. A man had appeared between him and his prey. He held a massively long sword in his hand, which had to be as tall as him. He pushed back, and Sasuke was forced away. He looked at the man as he stood from his crouch, and he sneered at the man," You think you've won since you pushed me back? Think again, fool. I am Uchiha Sasuke, the genius of the Uchiha clan, and none surpass me."

The man said," I am Shin Noh, and I don't care about your family name. A name doesn't make you strong, but your own skills. Prepare yourself, mortal." He lifted the sword up so that it was pointed straight out from his body, at the Uchiha.

Sasuke said," You are a fool, Shin. You cannot win against the Uchiha, it is impossible."

Shin smiled and said," I know you won't talk to me familiarly, so I know you are confused. I hail from far to the west, and my family name comes after my name. I am Shin of the Noh clan if that first bit confuses you."

The two invaders had to keep from laughing at the veiled insult leveled at the proud Uchiha. The Oto nin had to as well, for none really liked the stuck up brat as they called him. Sasuke snarled," I don't care, Noh. You are going to die." His curse seal activated, going to level one.

Shin said," You can't beat me with that little power boost. Show me real strength, Uchiha trash. Show me the level two cursed seal."

Sasuke snarled, as his skin darkened, and two hand like wings appeared on his back. He gained a cross shaped scar on his face, between his eyes. His canine elongated, and his red Sharingan whirled angrily. Shin nodded, and held his blade forward. He said," This is the power I want to see. You absolute best. Now, let me show you the power of the Noh clan." He began glowing with power, and the sword began glowing as well. He said in a loud voice that carried through the entire village," Noh Hijutsu: Tsurgi no Rei: Umarekawari(Noh secret technique: spirit sword: rebirth)!" There was a huge blast of wind and light as he finished it, and everyone watching covered their eyes to keep from going blind. As the light and wind died down, there was a cloud of smoke from the technique.

Sasuke looked at it, then laughed," The fool killed himself. Oh well, back to business." He raised his sword and began to charge the two invading ninja.

Only to stop as a voice was heard from within the smoke," You and I are not finished." While Shin's voice was unemotional, this voice was downright cold and laden with malice. The smoke began clearing as the voice continued," You don't know the power the Tsurgi no Rei possess. In the hands of a Noh, they can channel the skills and some of the power of the original wielder. And for the clan head, it is even better. They can use the Genesis techniques of the blades, and can become an avatar to the soul within by using the Noh Hijutsu, Umarekawari. You no longer fight against Shin Noh, Uchiha Sasuke. You fight against the man that originally used the blade held in my hand, the mighty Masamune."

Sasuke sneered and said," And who is that?" The smoke was finally almost gone.

As the smoke finished clearing, they saw him. He had long silver hair, and wore a mostly black outfit, with some gray armor in certain locations. He still had that huge sword, but it was no longer as tall as he, for he had to be at least six foot six. He had a cold face, with vivid green eyes that seemed to glow. He also had a huge black wing jutting from his back, and it too seemed to glow with an inner light. The man, who radiated cold and calculating look, said," I am the fallen angel. The man who once brought the world to it's knees and almost succeeded in destroying all life on the planet, long before the elemental countries were even born after the great catastrophe. I am Sephiroth."(I know I forgot about it, once again. I don't own Final Fantasy seven or any things connected to it.)

The two swordsmen looked at each other, and at an unspoken signal, they attacked. Sasuke attempted to use the sword with Chidori, and paralyze Sephiroth, but the one winged man simply jumped up, his wing extending and prolonging the time airborne. He landed and lunged at Sasuke, who dodged aside thanks only to his enhanced reflexes from the cursed seal and Sharingan. He pulled his sword to his shoulder and stabbed, but Sephiroth turned away at the last moment, swinging the longer blade as he completed the turn, aiming to cut Sasuke in half.

Sasuke brought his sword up in a block, but the sheer power behind it shot him through a building, and the one across from it on the next street. He flew through three buildings before he managed to stop his momentum. He looked up to see Sephiroth right in his face. He dodged as the sword stabbed forward again. He got back to his feet as Sephiroth vanished from sight. He wasn't quick enough as Sephiroth appeared behind him, swinging his blade so that he flew up into the air. Sephiroth appeared below him, and sent him flying with a mighty swing as Sasuke blocked.

Sasuke flew through the air and as luck would have it, landed on the Kyuubi puppet. Orochimaru and Naruto's eyes widened as they saw him. But there was no time to question as Sephiroth appeared and began hacking at Sasuke. Sasuke jumped back to land next to Orochimaru, and he said," Orochimaru-sensei, I need help with him."

The Snake Sannin's eyes went wide, Sasuke never asked for help, ever. This had him spooked, rather severely. The snake nodded, and looked at the tall man with one wing.

Sephiroth looked at the two, then at Naruto. Naruto held three puppets now. Hanzo and Sarutobi were a little bit ahead of him, and his third puppet was right next to him. This puppet seemed to be a man with a large sword held easily in one hand. He had his other hand up against him, held in place by part of the red coat he wore. He had dark sunglasses, and spiky black hair.

Naruto looked at Sephiroth, and felt amazed. He knew something was off with the man, but he couldn't figure it out. He said," I can see you're strong, but you'll need help against both of them. Allow me to fight by your side."

Sephiroth nodded, and turned to his two enemies. He said," What is your name, boy. And what are those."

Naruto said," I'm Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. These are my weapons, puppets. The really old man over there is the Sandaime Hokage, my adopted grandfather Sarutobi. The other man is Hanzo, one of the most powerful shinobi to ever live. And this one here is my newest, and wooden puppet I named Auron."(I know, this is ridiculous, but I also don't own Final Fantasy ten, or anything connected to it)

With Scar and the unnamed Jounin, who was currently fighting for his life, Scar was just toying with him. Finally he grew bored of the man, and lunged forward, grabbing his face and activating his arm. With a burst, the Sound Jounin's brains blew out the back of his skull.

Elsewhere, Alexander was sitting on the ground with Tayuya. There was only one other ninja alive, and that was Karin, out cold next to them. There were several kunai on the ground, with their ends changed to be replicas of Armstrong flexing. There were also several spikes of earth and rock. Armstrong nodded to Tayuya, and got up to find more enemies. Tayuya gathered her older sister up and carried her off to the meeting place they had agreed on.

On top of the Kyuubi puppet, the four warriors faced each other. Then with a burst of smoke, Sephiroth was gone, replaced by Shin. He smiled at Naruto, and then turned to face the two Oto shinobi before him. He said," So, ready to continue?" He sealed the long sword called Masamune, and pulled the only sword he carried on his person, a katana on his back. It was made of an incredibly dark metal that none could name. The four stared each other down, and the tails of the puppet flipped over a building. Using that as a signal, the four leaped into action.

Sarutobi moved forward, aiming towards Orochimaru, a hidden blade appearing from his foot as he did a kick towards the snake's face. Orochimaru blocked with the Kusanagi, and flipped over the old Kage. But at the apex of his flip, when his back was to Naruto for a moment, Auron struck, his sword sweeping up and around to come towards Orochimaru's long neck. Somehow, he dodged, his augmentation to his own body saving him.

While that was happening, Sasuke and Shin were fighting, their swords crashing against each other. Then Sasuke got inside Shin's guard, and stabbed him in the gut. Shin stumbled back as his blood coated the blade held in Sasuke's hand. He said," OK, enough being nice. This ends now." He flipped his katana, holding it in a reverse grip. He held up his right hand and made half a rat seal, before saying," In'eiton: In'ei Chikara no jutsu(shadow release: shadow force technique)."

He disappeared from sight. Sasuke looked around, trying to find him, but as he did so, he felt a pain in his stomach. He looked down to see a katana sticking through him from the back. He turned around to see Shin there with an angry look in his face. He pulled his katana out, threw it into the air, and performed a flip over Sasuke, kicking him in his chest as he came over. He landed on his hands, twisted, and flipped over before grabbing his katana as it came down. He looked at Sasuke and made half a tiger seal, before yelling," In'eiton: In'ei Suiryoku no jutsu(shadow release: shadow thrust technique)."

The shadow below Sasuke, his own shadow, bubbled and twisted before shooting a spike of shadows through his abdomen. It held it there, and Shin yelled," In'eiton: In'ei Bakuhatsu no jutsu(shadow release: shadow explosion technique)."

Sasuke's shadow exploded, causing him extreme damage since it was stuck in him when it did. He fell over, in such an intense pain, it couldn't be described with mere words. He was holding his middle, which was almost in two, connected by his spine, and a few tendons of muscle. Shin walked forward, standing over him. He raised his sword, and said," This is over. In'eiton: In'ei Tachikata no jutsu(shadow release: shadow cuts technique)." He made several cuts, cutting the remaining tendons and spine, severing the bottom half of Sasuke, then another to the neck, severing the head and flicking it into the air. Two more cuts as it came down separated the head into fourths. Shin sheathed his katana, and looked over at Orochimaru and Naruto.

Orochimaru saw his apprentice fall, and was stunned for about half a second. That half a second proved disastrous to his health as Sarutobi came forward, three blades appearing from his chest to snap into Orochimaru's chest. Then Auron and Hanzo moved forward, Auron's sword cleaving into the snake's skull, and Hanzo's three foot blade from his wrist sweeping low towards Orochimaru's legs, or the space between them. The other two puppets moved aside as his long blade came up through his private parts, cutting him in two from bottom to top. The two halves of Orochimaru fell to the ground.

Naruto sighed as he sealed up his puppets. He then looked out at the devastation wrought by his puppet. He sent a mental message to his clones, and they dispelled. He sealed up Kyuubi as well, rolling up the scroll and placing it on his back in it's holster. He turned to Shin, and held out his hand. The dark man smiled slightly as he shook Naruto's hand. Naruto said," I don't know why you're here at this point, but I don't care. You helped me take them out, and for that I thank you. Do you plan on doing anything to Sasuke's head?" Shin shook his head, and Naruto continued," Then I'm sending his head and Orochimaru to Konoha, with a message for the council." Shin laughed at that, and Naruto sealed up the two bodies into a scroll. They headed out towards the meeting place, and when they got there, found the rest of his team, and Armstrong and Scar, waiting. Gaara and his siblings were there as well. Naruto said," Gaara, could you and your siblings gather everyone remaining in the village in that clearing below us, I need to talk to them."

Twenty minutes later, the remaining people had been gathered. There were barely two hundred people remaining. Naruto stood before them, and unsealed the bodies of Orochimaru and Sasuke. He said," People of Oto, I come here today with news that will change your life one way or another. Orochimaru and his apprentice lie at my feet, dead from my and my allies' attack today. I myself killed your Otokage. You have two choices now. You can either accept this, and accept me as a new ruler over you, or I can kill you all, and gather the people needed for my own village. What is your choice."

The people didn't hesitate, but drew their weapons. Though there was only a few people in this village compared to others, they were all missing nins and powerful fighters. Naruto sighed as he activated the Legion Armlet, and made several clones. He pulled out his scrolls holding his puppets, and unsealed them. Kira, Jingo, Reaper, Suzumebachi, Shukaku, Titan, Haku, Hanzo, Sandaime Kazekage, Sarutobi, Sakon and Ukon, Kisame, and Auron. He handed off all the puppets but Hanzo and Sarutobi, who he wielded himself. He wouldn't allow anyone, even clones of himself, to use those two.

Shin laughed when he saw the armlet activate, and stood next to Naruto. He said," You know brat, I somehow knew you would have one of those. Now, let me show you something else." He reached behind his back, underneath his shirt, and pulled out a dagger. It was about twelve inches long, and the handle and sheath looked like a serpentine dragon. He unsheathed the blade, and it glistened. It was about eight inches long, and had two notches on the blade close to the handle. He held it between two fingers by those notches, and smiled. He said," It's been a long time since I got to use this. I'm going to enjoy this."

With no signal, the crowd of two hundred missing nins rushed for the two warriors. Shin shot forward into the crowd, giving each person a small scratch on them with the dagger. Naruto and his clones sent their puppets to join him, even as the first to be scratched died for no apparent reason. Naruto almost stumbled when he saw that, but he corrected, and his puppets began bringing on the pain to the enemy.

Within ten minutes between the two of them, the village of Oto was officially destroyed, it's people all killed. Naruto sealed up his puppets, and Shin sheathed his dagger, replacing it on his back under his shirt. He walked over to them, and Naruto said," You're not normal, are you?"

The rest of them were confused, Naruto had never told them about the Armlet, and why he was the only one that could use it. Hell they didn't even know that the clones made weren't shadow clones.

Shin said," So, the fox told you about these weapons, right?" A nod was his answer. Shin said," You're right, I'm not normal."

Naruto said," Which beast do you have sealed?" Now everyone was really confused.

Shin smiled, and started walking away, his two companions following him. He called over his shoulder," I don't have one. It's all me."

Naruto's eye grew wide, and he fell to his knees. Shin and his allies were gone in a moment, vanishing with various teleportation techniques. The remaining members looked at Naruto, and Fubuki moved forward to stand behind him before giving him a hug. She said," What is it, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked at his girlfriend, and said," He's a demon, a real demon." Those simple words, so easy to say, they changed everything.

* * *

This was a pain to write. I just couldn't get into it. But I hacked out a chapter. I hope you all think it's up to my usual standards. I think I kept up the good work, but you never know, I'm rather biased with my stories.

Now, I feel I should tell you, the reason I don't follow Japanese with Shin's name is for one simple reason. I made up Shin Noh years ago, and has been a favorite character for me to use ever since. I really like him, and I will use him until the day I stop writing fanfiction, which might be never. But I'm so used to using the English version that I just can't wrap my mind around using the Japanese way. I'm sorry, but Shin Noh will always be pronounced as such. But he won't be appearing often, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Another thing I need to say, is that yes, the knife Shin used is in fact the Draconis Knife, which kills without fail with only a single scratch.

Now, the next chapter should be out whenever I get it out. I might read some stories to see if I can find something to add to make the story better. Until then, Peace.

-EDIT- I am tired of people asking, so I'll say it here. Sakura is a servant of Danzo. Danzo owns the council. Therefore, if he wants to protect her from the blacklash of having a deceased Kage, he will. People always ask me why no one questions how or why she has the Raikage, or how she knows puppetry. It's not that they don't, it's just that if they make a fuss, ROOT will silence them. I know I'm messing with how the canon Konoha works, but this is MY story, and I'll do what I want. Now, for the love of Kami, don't ask me again. I am not going to answer, merely point you to this note if you haven't gotten to it yet. I'm sorry for ranting, but I'm getting sick of being asked the same question over and over again. I think someone's asked me twice, but I'm not sure on that. Peace.


	15. Business as Usual

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Don't sue me.

AN: Here is chapter 15 of Puppeteer. In this, three months have passed since Naruto and his team defeated the Sound and killed Orochimaru. Now, Naruto has decided to begin his next plan. What that plan is, you will have to find out. Now, let's get it on. Chapter fifteen, Naruto the Puppeteer, begin.

-0-0-

In the three months since Orochimaru and the Sound was defeated, several things had changed for the newest of the hidden villages. First thing was they shortened the official name of the village, for no one could really pronounce it. It was now called Ayatsurgakure, and Naruto was the Ayatkage. Naruto had sent out messages to all of the missing nins and friends he had met on his five years of travel, and they were gathered in the new village. It was only about two hundred people at the moment, but that would change soon. They had an academy that could rival any of the other villages, and they had an accelerated course that would produce Genin within a year. They had close to a hundred genin ranked ninja, roughly seventy Chunin, and thirty Jounin. Compared to some other villages, this was tiny, but it was all they had, though they also had alliances with Suna, and trade agreements with Wave and Spring. In short, things were looking good for them.

Naruto sat in his office. He had used thousands of clones to rebuild the village from where it had been destroyed in the attack, and he was still suffering from the effects of using demonic chakra so often. He was at about seventy percent effectiveness, and he had a meeting to get to. He sighed, to quote Shikamaru, this was troublesome.

He moved down the hallway towards the council room. His council was small at this point, but he didn't want a lot of greedy individuals to be on the council, he had enough problems with getting the village up and running. He had a few places that would send his village missions, but he needed to prove that Ayatsur was better than others.

He opened the door to the council chamber and bowed before his council. There were four of them. Three were the heads of wandering clans that had no affiliation to any village before Ayatsur was formed. The last was the head of the civilian populace, small though it was.

Naruto looked each in the eye, then nodded to them. One of the shinobi heads said," Naruto-san, good."

Naruto held up a hand and said," Please, while this is business, we must stick to tradition."

The shinobi bowed and said," Quite right. Ayatkage-sama, good of you to make it."

Naruto sat down in his seat and said," I am a very busy man, so tell me what you need."

The spokesman said," We have the monthly report on our finances, and I thought you would like to discuss them with us." He handed papers out to all the others, and Naruto looked it over once before putting it down.

He said," I will look at it later, when I'm not so pressed for time. I see nothing that is glaringly problematic in there. If there is a problem, please enlighten me." He kept his voice even and friendly, but they all knew he was getting annoyed at having to be here instead of overseeing his village.

One of the other clan heads said," I have heard reports of several missing nin in the area. Are we going to destroy them, leave them be, or invite them to join Ayatsur?"

Naruto thought about it and said," I will send out three Jounin to find these missing nin, and see if they have the skills needed to stand up as members of Ayatsurgakure. If they do, we will give them an invite, if not we let them be so long as they don't attack our nin. If they do, they are fair game."

The civilian councilman said," On that subject, are we going to create a hunter-nin division, and ANBU?"

Naruto said," Not at this time for hunter-nin. Until we have more citizens and ninja, all of our Chunin and Jounin will have to act as hunter-nin while on missions. We won't send out hunters for missing nin, but teams of Chunin and Jounin. As for ANBU, I have already started to look into the Jounin and Chunin for who can be part of ANBU. I should have ten by next month, and hopefully thirty by the month after."

They discussed some lesser things about the village, like the crime rate(nonexistent), and then dismissed for the day. Naruto returned to his office and told his secretary to call for the three Jounin for the missing-nin. Within a few minutes, they were there. Setsu, Karin(who had joined after Tayuya had explained who Naruto was and what he was planning) and Tayuya. Naruto explained to them what their mission was, and they were on the way with a wave of dismissal.

Naruto walked out to his balcony after making a Kage Bushin to do the paperwork. He looked at his village, his new life. He knew that Akatsuki would come after him, and he had no illusions that the other hidden villages wouldn't strike while they were still getting onto their feet. He pulled out a small dagger and cut his palm deeply before saying," I promise on the blood and pain in my hand, that I will do everything in my power to protect all those within this village from harm."

Miles away, in Konoha, things were going good for them. Or as good as could be expected. Tsunade was currently in a meeting with the council, and it was getting on her nerves. They were needlessly discussing how to get the son of the Yondaime back. A distraction came in the form of a knock. The council quieted as Tsunade motioned the ANBU to open the door. A messenger wearing a strange headband walked in, and held out a box to Tsunade. He said," I was told to give this to the Godaime Hokage when she was in a council meeting. I assume you are her?"

Tsunade nodded, and took the box. She said," Who sent you, and why did they want it delivered during a closed session of the council."

A voice rang out," Yes. You are interrupting important work, shinobi. Be careful or we'll have you arrested."

Tsunade turned to glare at Danzo before saying," I'm waiting on an answer."

The messenger said," I am but a lowly messenger, barely a chunin. I was sent by the Ayatkage to give this to you, and those were my orders. I do not question my leader's orders. Is that common here?"

There was an uproar, and the messenger bowed and said," My apologies, but may I take my leave?"

Tsunade waved him off, and he swiftly exited. Tsunade said," Do you wish to see what is in this box? Seems whoever the Ayatkage is, they want you to know."

The rest of the council nodded, and she opened the box, to reveal three scrolls. Two were sealing scrolls, but the third was a message. She unrolled it first and read.

" Dear members of Konoha's esteemed council, and Hokage, I send you my greetings. I am the Shodaime Ayatkage of Ayatsurgakure, the village hidden in the puppet. As a sign of good will, and a token of my gratefulness to you all, I send you a small gift. Or that is what I want to say. In truth, I merely want to claim the reward. My gift to you is in the other two scrolls. I hope they please you. All rewards can be forwarded to the office of the Kazekage, and he will make sure we get our dues.

"on another note, do not attempt to find us. We are very well hidden, and we do not appreciate you attempting to rope us into serving you again. With all the respect you deserve.

"Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, Shodaime Ayatkage of Ayatsurgakure"

She rolled up the scroll, and looked at the silent chambers. Then she unrolled the first of the scrolls, and used some chakra to unseal it's contents.

The decapitated corpse of Orochimaru appeared before them. They initially recoiled from the sight, then leaned forward. Tsunade gave it a scan with a medical jutsu, and declared," It is Orochimaru. He's killed a renegade Sannin."

There was an uproar as she opened his mouth, or what passed as a mouth. She realized that his tongue was cut off. There was also another scroll stuffed in his mouth. She pulled it out, and the cries tapered off when they saw it. She opened the scroll and read," I personally killed Orochimaru, and though I planned on strangling him to death with his own tongue, I suppose this is just as good. I want you all to know, I helped a man who wanted to kill him achieve this dream of his. I used the Sandaime Hokage to kill him, and though he didn't strike the final blow, he was still a deciding factor. Pass on my regards to Asuma, with thanks for letting me take his father to make into a puppet. A man's will should be executed after all."

They were silent again, then Danzo said," Let's see what is in the other box. Maybe he's sent us Uchiha Itachi's head this time." They chuckled at this.

Tsunade opened the third and final scroll from the box, and unsealed it's contents.

The first thing that appeared was another scroll. Then four thuds sounded as four parts to a head fell down. Though they were mixed up, everyone could see that it was the head of Uchiha Sasuke.

Everyone stood and demanded repayment of the demon for killing the last loyal Uchiha. Tsunade bellowed," ENOUGH! SILENCE!"

They all shut up, and she said," Have you forgotten that the 'last loyal Uchiha' abandoned us five years ago to go to Orochimaru for power? He wasn't loyal, and you would do well to remember it." They nodded, properly chastised. Tsunade unrolled the final scroll that came with the pieces and read," It's not Itachi, but I suppose the younger brother is good enough for now. I didn't kill Sasuke personally, and in fact it wasn't even anyone under my command who did. It was a third party who helped us for reasons unknown to us in destroying Oto. Yes, it is true. Myself and seven others under my command, as well as three outsiders who we don't know all that well, destroyed the village of Oto completely. I myself killed at least a hundred people in that battle, as did the leader of the three who helped. His name is Noh Shin, or as he calls himself, Shin Noh. He comes from far to the west, apparently beyond the great seas at the end of the elemental countries. He was the one who killed Sasuke. I have taken the liberty of keeping Sasuke's Sharingan eyes, for I know that you will attempt to use them to increase your own power. Now, the Kage Bushin I left to do paperwork just dispelled because of an angry fiancee of mine, so I must be going. Ta Ta."

There was a deafening silence, and Tsunade turned over the pieces of Sasuke's head, and found that they eyes had indeed been removed. She shook her head, and said," We'll have to pay him."

The council began to roar in anger at that, saying that Naruto needed to come back to Konoha and be a shinobi of the Leaf again, and that they weren't paying him for killing the last Uchiha.

Tsunade's fist collapsed the table before her, and she ground out," You imbeciles. He is not a shinobi of the Leaf any more, or did you forget that YOU banished him?" There was silence as she continued to rant," You know our policy. If the head of a missing nin that is in the bingo book is sent to us by an outside source, then we have to pay them. Orochimaru has been killed, and Sasuke too. Both are listed in the Bingo Book, and we have no choice but to send him the payment for killing them. Now, I want a courier to be sent to Suna, to give the reward to the Kazekage as Naruto asked. Do not attempt anything, or you will have to face the wrath of at least one Kage, possibly more. Now, this meeting is over. Dismissed." She strode away, and out the doors before they could stop her.

Back in Ayatsur, Naruto had met with a few more of his ninja, interviewing several for possibly joining the ANBU division he was setting up. He smiled as his fiancee came in. She walked over to him, and asked," Where are we going tonight, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto smiled widely and said," I have a clearing picked out on the outskirts of the village. Hold on for a moment and we'll leave." He made a seal for Kage Bushin, and two clones appeared. He set them to work finishing the paperwork, and then gave Fubuki a hug before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Three days later, Naruto was sitting at his desk preparing for paperwork when the door was opened slightly, and his secretary put his head in to ask a question," Are you free. The three Jounin you sent out on the missing nin assignment came back." Naruto nodded, and made a clone as the three Jounin entered, and sat down at his sitting circle. He joined them and asked," Report."

They told him what happened on the mission, the missing nin weren't strong, and as such, weren't offered a place in Ayatsurgakure. One had attempted to attack Tayuya, and was summarily beaten and killed. Naruto nodded, and waved them out of his office. He had more things to do today. But all that was put on hold as his door opened again. He reached for a kunai in reflex, and then stopped when he saw his future wife, Fubuki.

She smiled at him, and he gave her the patented foxy grin. But then she spoke, and it was all business," Ayatkage-sama, we have a problem."

He looked at her, and said," Go ahead, I'm listening."

She sat down and began," I have heard rumors going around that there is to be a repeat of Orochimaru's attack on Konoha five years ago."

He nodded, he had heard those rumors too. She continued," Normally this wouldn't be an issue, but from what I gather, it is going to be Cloud and Rock, along with Rain going after them."

Naruto's head snapped up, and he listened more intently as she continued," We have the makings of a Fourth Great Shinobi War on our hands, and Konoha is poised to be destroyed utterly."

Naruto stood up and went over to his desk, and began swearing viciously under his breath. He had a look in his eyes, like one who was planning something that most would consider insane. Fubuki said," I know you planned on destroying Konoha yourself, but you won't get the chance if Iwa and Kumo beats you to it."

Naruto nodded, this was big news. He said," I want our absolute best prepared. When Kumo and Iwa attack, I will be waiting. I have no love for my original village any more, but I refuse to let any one but me destroy it. That is MY RIGHT!"

Fubuki nodded, and knew that he would see Konoha burn, soon. He said," I am taking a small leave of absence. I want to prepare myself too. Tell all the pencil pushers that they will take up the slack, and assign no more missions outside the village. I know this is premature, but it's either take them all out or join in alliance with Konoha, and I refuse to do that, ever."

Fubuki nodded again, and went out to attend to his orders. Naruto got his things together, and set a Kage Bushin to tell any who came what was happening. Then he left, heading for his construction building.

All throughout the village of Ayatsurgakure, ninja prepared, and trained harder than ever before. They were preparing for a war, a war on two fronts. Though the remainder of the world didn't know it, the Fourth Great Shinobi War was beginning.

-0-0-

This seems a good place to stop it. Tell me what you think. I will be the first to admit that it is rather lacking, but it's really just a transistor chapter to get to the endgame. I want to say, that I have decided to complete this story. It will end in the next few chapters, twenty is my goal. I hope you all continue to like my story, and I will be working on the next chapter as soon as I get the next chapter of Devil's Heritage out. Peace.


	16. message

OK, I know it's been forever since I last updated, and I am supremely sorry for that. Real life and general lazyness are to blame. Plus I get these new ideas that just won't let go of me, and demand my attention as well. Even now, I have about four different Naruto stories bouncing around in my head, not to mention Harry Potter, Pokemon, and even one for Digimon. And going over my old work over the last few days, I have come to a startling realization.

What was I on when I wrote this? Cause I must have been under the influence of something if I thought this was good. Perhaps I have matured as a writer since writing these, and I realize just how bad they really are, but whatever. All of this leaves me with a delimma. What to do with them. I could rewrite them, I could leave them in the hope that I'll get around to completing the story, I could abandon them. What do I do with them.

So, the following actions will take place for my stories.

Harry Potter and a Devil's Heritage is officially abandonned. If any of those who read this want to take it up and finish it, more power to you. If you do, send me a message, cause there were some ideas I had that I wanted incorporated into the final chapter.

Greatest Ninja Alive is officially abandonned. Once again, if any of those read this want to take it up and finish it, go for it. I won't stop you.

Preparations is officially abandonned. I am sure you get the message by now. If you want to adopt, go for it.

Naruto the Puppeteer is going to be taken down, and rewritten to suit my more developed style. I do not know when I will get around to writing the rewrite, but we will see.

Harry Potter: Chimera Rising, and Trainer of Legends are still going strong, and I will be continuing them. I hope to have a new chapter up soon for both of them, though I am having a bit of trouble with ToL.

I also have decided to start a challenge story, for all the ideas that pop into my head, so someone else can have a chance to bring my thoughts to life. I do not know when the challenges will be up, but keep an eye out.

I also have a Digimon story I want to put up, that'll be up soon.

Well, I have delivered my message. I am sorry that it has come to this, and I hope this doesn't make you think I am a bad author. But I cannot keep this up. So, I leave you with my message, as always. Peace.

Mint Man Bail.


	17. goodbye

I have some bad news. Due to the increased adherance to the rules, I can no longer continue to post on this site. I am not being banned or anything like it. This is really just my protesting the changes. I am sorry to all of you, but I can't do this any more. If you want to find me elsewhere, I will be posting on Ficwad and Yourfanfiction. Soon as I get an invite, sometime in September, I will also be posting on Archive of our own. In one week, I will be removing my stories from this site. Peace for the final time.

Mint Man Bail


	18. a new beginning

OK, due to people asking a lot, I will not be removing my stories from here. And for those who want to know my ID on the other sites, I have decided to not post on Ficwad at this time, due to confusion on how to post there. On yourfanfiction, I have the same username, Mint Man Bail. I have not actually posted any stories yet. I am going to spend some time building up a backlog on my stories, at least ten chapters for all of them. So don't expect any posts for a while. Peace one more time.

Mint Man Bail


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